


Being A Stark - Timestamps

by Caspinn, kalkoenvsneoklak



Series: Sweet Child of Mine [4]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Additional Warnings In Author's Note, Asexual Natasha Romanov, Awkward Peter, Demisexual Peter Parker, Established Relationship, Filling plot holes that didn't fit the actual story, Incorrect Quotes, MJ knows more than she lets on, Multi, Superfamily, break-ups, sometimes crack, timestamps
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-23
Updated: 2018-06-02
Packaged: 2019-02-19 06:43:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 17
Words: 64,132
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13118229
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Caspinn/pseuds/Caspinn, https://archiveofourown.org/users/kalkoenvsneoklak/pseuds/kalkoenvsneoklak
Summary: Scenes that didn't fit in the first part of the story, but might actually shed a light on what other characters thought!





	1. Take Care of You

**Author's Note:**

> Here we are, the first timestamp is up! Yes, yes! We get a view in Steve Roger's head for the first time since the story started! As a setting, this happens exactly when Peter calls Steve up when he finds Tony. As I've noticed, a lot of people were a bit angry at Steve for not doing more, and I completely understand why they would given that we don't have much context of what it's like on his side. Which is why I'ce brought you this chapter right here! Enjoy, and feel free to point out any mistake I've made ^^  
> Merry Christmas, people!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve’s point of view of the happenings in the hospital all the way from Wakanda

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A short list of upcoming Timestamps:
> 
> Cure for Wellness: The doctors are put in front of a mystery when it comes to the matter of the Green Goblin
> 
> A Christmas Meeting: On the Christmas Party, May Parker meets a certain Colonel. 
> 
> The realization: Steve deals with the guilt that come when he realizes Peter is Spider-Man
> 
> Id-Jit: Peter finally finishes his bot.
> 
> About the Accords pt. 2: Ross goes to see the X-Men to talk to them about the accords.
> 
> The Talkshow: The talkshow of revelations, or otherwise called as 'that one time Steve came out on live television'.
> 
> Bionic Punch: Tony meets a certain agent who got involved with the trouble in Midland Circle, and he decides to help her out. 
> 
> Surprise, it’s a wedding!: The Stark-Parker-Rogers household receive an invitation to a very royal wedding. 
> 
> Not My School: Peter is afraid to admit to his father that he doesn't want to go to MIT
> 
> Not so Super: Tony tries to get used to being part super-soldier with the help of two other super soldiers.
> 
> How to train your Tony Stark: Pepper Potts has a lot of patience, but it's about ready to run out when she learns Tony's escaped from the hospital
> 
> (In)correct Quotes part 3: this one speaks for itself.
> 
> Hands off our Spidey: The Avengers don't take kindly to people hurting their favorite Spider-Man.

It’s about five in the morning when the phone starts ringing. Steve’s lying on his stomach; the sun isn’t even seeping through the blinds. His room is completely dark, with no other sound getting in.

Steve Rogers grunts as he shifts until he’s on his side. Facing the nightstand, he reaches out his hand to get the little black device he’s keeping around all the times. His vision blurred, he’s having trouble reading what’s written on the screen. The phone keeps ringing.

He’s been asleep for only about an hour or two. To be honest, the moment he reached Tony on the phone, he’d been trying to talk things through, to get everything out. But then Tony hung up, and Steve kept trying again and again. Around three he decided it was no use, so he gave up.

Yet now the phone is still going off.

“H’llo?” he asks without bothering to see who it is. If his eyes won’t cooperate, he’ll figure it out soon enough anyway.

He doesn’t expect Peter shouting in his ears.

“ _Steve! Shit, hi! Help! I just came home and there were shards everywhere and-“_

Steve sits up, rubbing his eyes and wondering what Peter is on about.

“Shards? Peter? What happened, are you alright?” he asks, a bit worried. He sounds genuinely scared, and that’s enough to make Steve nervous on the spot.

_“I just, I found blood on the floor, and I followed it to the bathroom but the door was locked and Tony changed my overrides so I couldn’t get in. I had to break the door and Tony is on the floor and he’s unconscious and I can’t wake him up but he’s breathing and-“_

“Peter, calm down, you’re scaring me. Are you alright?”

Steve’s heart is beating, faster than it should be. Tony’s on the floor? There’s blood? Was there a fight in the tower? Steve gets out of bed to check his computer, see if there’s anything about an attack on the news.

“ _I’m fine, but Dad isn’t_!”

Yeah, that’s what Steve was fearing. A quick look on the internet shows nothing. Is it because he called him? Is this possibly Steve’s fault?

“What happened?” Steve asks. He hates the fact that he can always stay calm, even in situations like this. Sure, on the inside he’s panicking in every possible way. His outside just… can’t show that. And he knows, to Peter, it might come over like he’s not all that worried about it.

“ _He’s been drinking again. He hasn’t drunk in months, and suddenly he did it again. I don’t understand why- he was doing better, Steve!”_

So it _is_ his fault. Why else would Tony pick up the bottle again after months of staying away from it? The phone call, Tony sounded like he was hurrying to hang up on him. Steve closes his eyes, pressing his fingers against them while he takes a few deep breaths.

“You said something about blood? Is Tony hurt?”

Get a read on the situation. Then figure out what needs to be done.

“ _He cut his hand on a broken bottle I think,”_ Peter answers.

“Have you called Dr. Cho?”

“ _She’s not in town,”_ comes in return. Of course, she isn’t. _“There’s no-one else at the compound qualified for this.”_

Steve lets out another sigh. The fact that Cho isn’t there is really bad news, since they’re going to have to use the public services this time. With that, there’s more chances that they’re going to be seen, and then the news will be plastered on all the newspapers. _Tony Stark in hospital for being drunk_. Steve can already see it in front of him.

“Call an ambulance,” he starts after a few seconds of thinking. “Tell them what happened, and to be as discreet as possible. Give them instructions to go through the garage, and take them through the private elevators – you know which one. Then after that, call Pepper, let her know what happened and let her prepare herself for the possible press they might get. You can try and keep this completely anonymous, but there’s always a chance that somebody will find out.”

There’s no answer from Peter, but Steve’s sure that he gets it.

“I can’t be there, I’m sorry Peter. T’Challa won’t allow me to head back to the States twice in one week. Besides, if the government learns that I’ve been in contact with him outside of accords-business, they’ll arrest him, too.” Of course, that doesn’t mean he’s not going to try. He’ll talk to T’Challa immediately. It’s an emergency after all. If they’re successful, Steve can be in New York in about twelve hours. Hopefully, by then Tony’ll be awake again, and they’ll know what exactly happened.

“ _I understand_ ,” Peter answers. He sounds… distant. Understandable, since he’s taking care of his unconscious father right now. He should be focusing on that, instead. “ _I need to go_.”

“Alright, keep me updated,” Steve tells him.

“ _I will_.” After that, Peter hangs up. Steve’s already in the hallway, not caring if he’s waking everybody else up with his heavy footsteps. T’Challa’s room is on the floor above them, and it’s surrounded with security. But Steve expects they’ll let him in if he asks, right?

“Steve? What’s going on?” somebody asks behind. Steve quickly turns around to see Bucky standing there. It’s only been a few days since they’ve pulled him out of cryo again after T’Challa’s people found a way to work with Wanda and Tony’s BARF-glasses. It had been an investment, but T’Challa had expressed that he did not wish to be repaid for that.

Bucky looks… better, in a way. Sure, they’re not close to even fixing the way his head works, but they’re starting to get somewhere now. Wanda helps a lot, he said. That’s all that really matters.

“It’s Tony, he’s not well,” Steve admits. “I need to see T’Challa, try and go back to New York.”

Bucky frowns and shakes his head.

“Are you crazy? I mean, I know you love the guy, but besides the fact that it’s _five_ in the morning, you only _just_ got back yesterday. You really think he’ll let you go again?” Bucky rubs his shoulder, as if it’s hurting him. The lack of an arm doesn’t seem to bother him as much as they would have expected.

“I have to try. I can’t leave him alone right now,” Steve counters. He starts walking forward again, only to be stopped by Bucky’s hand on his arm. Immediately, he stills his steps, taking a deep breath and realizing it’s shaky. Only then does he realize that his eyes sting.

“I know you don’t like to hear it, but you’re not together anymore, Steve,” Bucky starts. “It hurts, I totally understand, but c’mon Steve…”

Steve sniffs. There’s the first tear already… He hates feeling like this.

“Okay, if not Tony, I still can’t just leave Peter alone right now,” he suggests.

“No, Steve. What you need is to sleep, rest, and wait for some news. There’s nothing you can do there.”

Steve lets out another deep breath before turning towards Bucky. He doesn’t know what exactly he’s feeling right now, but it doesn’t feel pleasant at all.

“Why are you stopping me, Buck? You don’t want me to go?” he asks angrily. At that time another door opens, revealing Wanda in the hallway, looking confused as she sees the two adults talking in the hallway.

“No I don’t want you to go. Going back to New York the first time was dangerous enough. Now you want to go again? You _want_ them to catch you? You _want_ to go to jail?”

“What’ going on?” Wanda asks curiously. Sam’s door opens as well now, and so does Clint’s. Why is everybody such a light sleeper?

“Tony is in the hospital, and Steve wants to go back to New York,” Bucky explains. There’s some murmurs after that.

“You can’t go, Steve. It’s too dangerous!” Clint throws in.

“Dude, if your girlfriend would be in the hospital wouldn’t you want to go and see her?” Sam counters.

“I don’t have a girlfriend, so no,” Clint throws back. “Steve, buddy, I know this sucks, but if you go back you put all of us in danger.”

“Exactly, thank you, Clint,” Bucky counters. Wanda doesn’t say anything, except for staring at Steve with large eyes. Then she takes a few steps forward and reaches out her hand towards his face. With a thumb, she wipes away a tear that started rolling over his cheek.

“What’s wrong with Tony?” she asks, pulling a few strands of hair out of his face. Steve is grateful for her, she’s the first one to actually _ask_ what’s wrong.

“He’s- uh…” and Steve stars explaining what Peter all told him. He lets it all out of his chest; the phone calls he’s been making, the urgency in which Tony wanted to hang up with him, the disappointment in Peter’s voice. He lets it all out. And Wanda puts her hand on his shoulder and squeezes it. Sam moves forward and does the same.

They stand there for a few quiet minutes. But after a while, Clint lets out another sigh.

“Listen, Steve, if you want to go, you try and work it out with T’Challa tomorrow, okay? You won’t get there immediately, it can wait at least three more hours.”

Steve nods. He’s probably right. They all return to their room, and Steve keeps the phone next to him, ready to pick up when it goes off again.

But it doesn’t, and by the time that he supposes T’Challa is awake, Steve jumps out of bed, gets himself dressed and hurries back into the hallway forgetting all about breakfast. The door that leads to T’Challa’s office is, as usual, guarded. The two women look about ready to kick Steve’s ass if he even tries to do something funny, no matter the serum. He’s come across them a few times, and always decided to just stay clear of them.

“I’m here to see the king,” Steve explains when he gets a pair of raised eyebrows from the women. Their eyes are hypnotizing in a way. It’s wonderful that T’Challa has such faithful and skilled people behind him.

“Have you got an appointment?” the woman on the right asks. Steve opens his mouth to answer, but then the door opens. There he can see T’Challa’s surprised face. He looks like he’s ready to head outside. Good, where-ever he’s going, Steve can just talk to him about it on the way there.

Despite the initial surprise at suddenly seeing somebody in front of his door, he doesn’t seem that much surprised that it’s Steve. He nods at him, motioning for him to follow. Steve nods, keeping up his pace.

“I suspect you are here about Mr. Stark?” he asks. Steve frowns but then nods.

“Yeah, I- uh… how did you know?” he returns. He’s pretty sure they couldn’t have told him already, right? But T’Challa just takes out his phone and hands it to Steve, who gets to see an article published online.

 _Tony Stark drinks himself to hospital_ , the title says. Steve feels an immediate wave of anger coming over him. So they’ve spotted him on the way out? That’s exactly what Steve wanted to avoid, damn it.

“You want to return to New York, am I not mistaking?” T’Challa continues the conversation while they exit one hallway to get into another one.

“Yes, I really need to-“

“No.”

Steve stands still, bumping up against one of the guards that didn’t expect him to stop.

“No?” he asks in confusion. That’s it? That’s all the guy has to say about it?

“I trust you know the risks there were when I traveled you to New York last time?” T’Challa explains. “Risks for you, risks for me, and for your teammates, including Mr. Stark _and_ your teenage boy.”

Steve wants to counter that, to say that, even though he wishes it was so, Peter’s not his son. Of course, it feels like he is, nonetheless.

“Yes, but I-“ Steve starts again, only to be interrupted by T’Challa once more.

“Listen, Steven. I understand your need to return and be with your beloved. More than you can imagine. But the fact remains that he said he does not want you there. And whether that fact is true or not, you must respect his wishes.”

“But he might be dying!” Steve counters. T’Challa then puts his hand on Steve’s shoulder, gently shaking him.

“If there is anything I know about Tony Stark, it’s that he won’t allow himself to die so easily,” T’Challa tries to assure him. Then he nods at Steve once again shortly before clearing his throat. “Now I have to leave the country for a few days, I’ll be in France to discuss the accords with a few people there. I trust you respect my word and stay put, Steven?”

Steve lets out a long breath, but then closes his eyes and lowers his head. He nods. T’Challa smiles again.

“Good, then I will see you in a few days’ time,” T’Challa concludes. When he steps again, Steve doesn’t follow anymore. He just stands there, watching the King walk away, feeling like he’s about ready to explode out of his own skin.

Steve tries to listen to T’Challa’s words. He stays put for now, until at least he hears some more news. He calls the phone again and again, but quickly comes to realize that nobody’s picking up. The first day, it’s bearable. He’ll just fight it out in the training center.

The second day, he might start to get a bit more worried than before. Once again, the punching bags become the victims of that, but he also goes for a jog in the gardens. When he gets to the spot at three in the afternoon, he doesn’t really feel anything.

The third day, he realizes Peter might actively be avoiding him. So far, he hasn’t picked up the phone at all, and Steve has to do with whatever the news tells him. It goes from alcohol poisoning to hepatitis A to acute liver failure. Steve can’t really follow it, and he wishes he has more to go on. But, with no other way to contact anybody in New York, his hands are tied.

T’Challa doesn’t return. Steve can’t try and talk to him again. Clint and Bucky agree that he needs to stay away from New York, that it’s too dangerous and that Tony has enough people looking after him. They’re just worried about everybody’s safety here, Steve can understand that.

Wanda and Sam feel like Steve’s not where he’s supposed to be. Steve wants to shout it out when he hears their hesitation on it all, but the three of them agree that they can’t just ignore T’Challa’s wishes and storm off without a warning. Besides, they have no plane to fly.

So Steve calls. Again, and again. Until after a while, somebody picks up.

“ _’llo?”_

It’s Tony! Steve’s almost crying when he realizes it’s Tony!

“Tony?!” he shouts so loud that both Bucky and Sam jump up in surprise. They’re in the gardens, the two of them playing a game of chess while Steve had been drawing – or rather staring ahead of himself. “Thank God, I’ve been trying to reach somebody for days!”

“ _What for?”_ Tony asks, sounding genuinely confused. Steve frowns, already opening his mouth to explain when suddenly Tony continues. “ _Or… right…”_

“Are you okay? Peter said he would keep me up to date but I haven’t heard from him…” Not that Steve blames him. He probably disappointed the kid real big. He’s aware that both Bucky and Sam are listening in to his part of the conversation, so he’s taking comfort in the fact that they can’t hear Tony talking.

“ _Im, uh, I’m alright. Peter didn’t have the phone, it was with me.”_

Peter must have left it with Tony in his anger. Of course.

“You have no idea how worried I was. What happened, Tones?” It takes all he has to keep himself from calling him ‘honey’ or anything like that. No longer allowed to do that, he reminds himself.

There’s a loud noise on the other side, and then Tony cursing something.

“Tony?” he calls out, worried.

“ _It’s nothing, but… clumsy,”_ Tony clarifies. He must have bumped up against something.

“Pepper didn’t give too much information through the press. She said something about you catching something abroad? Was it Wakanda? Was it me?”

“ _No, no, no, no, it was much earlier than that,”_ Tony mutters on the other side if the line. He sounds tired. “ _Listen, honey, don’t worry. I’m fine, alright? I’ll be back home in no time.”_ Then he yawns loudly.

“Tony… why did you call me ‘honey’?” Steve asks, feeling his heart ache instantly. Besides, what’s this about being back home in no time? From what he read, he thought it was pretty serious?

“ _Uh, old habits die hard. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said that. Listen, I need to go, the doctor is here.”_

There’s no chance to say anything else; suddenly Steve is greeted with the beeping sound that indicates Tony hung up. He lowers the phone and starts rubbing his eyes, feeling like he’s about ready to start crying.

“That bad?” Sam asks behind him. Steve jumps up, having forgotten that he was there.

“He sounds confused, mostly,” Steve explains. “I can’t just stay here, guys.”

Sam nods at that, giving Bucky a quick look. Steve’s best friend then sighs but nods as well.

“Alright, we’ll get you to New York,” he sighs, clearly not completely behind the idea, but willing to risk it for his best friend. Steve manages a small smile after that.

So they get something together. Wanda and Clint try and distract the guards while Steve, Bucky and Sam attempt to sneak out of the castle. The plan is fool proof, and they even get themselves all the way into the city. It’s only then that they realize Steve doesn’t have any papers. They don’t allow him on the plane.

“Shit!” Steve even yells after realizing their plan had failed. Much to their surprise, an expensive car shows up, revealing T’Challa waiting for them as it he’d been expecting this. So apparently he’s back into the country.

“I am not angry, nor disappointed,” the king says. “I can really understand why you would want to go, but I’m just afraid I cannot allow that. I hope you understand why, Steven?”

And Steve nods, and they’re back in the palace. And while they’re supposed to just… spend their days there while they wait for news, Steve gets more calls from a very confused Tony Stark.

He asks when he’ll be home. Asks what he wants for dinner. If he wants to head to the dance club tonight, watch a movie with him and Peter. There’s a lot of pet names, confessions of love. And with every call that’s made, another attempt at escaping comes with it.

Steve never manages. The guards are around him almost 24/7, keeping an eye on him. T’Challa admits that he doesn’t like having Steve watched like that, but that he feels it’s necessary. Clint and Scott agree. Sam argues with him, but it leads to nothing. Bucky tries to stay out of it to let Wanda help him during their sessions.

About a week after Tony’s admittance in the hospital Steve figures he’s had enough of it. He’s stronger than T’Challa’s guards, and they won’t shoot at him. At all. What makes him hesitate even more? Steve’s about ready to run out of his room and hurry to T’Challa’s plane when suddenly somebody knocks on his window. Steve turns around, finding Natasha standing there.

Quickly, he hurries to let her in. Natasha jumps in the room in a swift motion. She’s completely dressed in black clothing, and her hair is tied together in a loose tail.

“What are you doing here?” Steve asks in confusion. Natasha rolls her eyes but hands him a couple of her gadgets. He recognizes them as… tazers? He’s not sure.

“I’m getting you out of here, smartpants. I have a quinjet with me but we need to hurry” she says, nodding back towards the window. “We only have a very short moment before the guards continue on their patrol.”

Steve nods. "You know he's out of cryo?" 

Natasha gives him a blunt look. "I am aware," she responds. Then she nods back to the window, and Steve nods. Quickly changing into dark clothes as well, the two leave the bedroom without further thought. They don’t speak, they know better than that. Natasha tells him when to duck, hide, or when they need to run. Once or twice, Steve can see the flashlight of one of the guards nearing them.

They stop when Steve’s phone suddenly goes off. The loud noise cuts into the air, revealing to everybody outside that he’s here. Natasha lets out a curse, and Steve hurries to take the phone. Nobody’s coming, he thinks they’re safe for now. Quickly, Steve presses the green button and puts the device against his ear.

“Tony, please, no more,” he pleads lowly. _I’m on my way, stop worrying all the time_.

“ _Uh, it’s me,”_ Peter’s familiar voice suddenly says. Steve’s heart speeds up after that, especially when he hears some people talking in the background. They haven’t found them yet, but they know there’s somebody here.

“Peter? I thought you wouldn’t call me anymore,” Steve admits. Natasha hisses at him that he needs to hang up now, but Steve waves her off. He hasn’t had a chance to talk to Peter in a long while, he needs to hear what’s going on.

“ _I wasn’t going to, but… I don’t know, I don’t want to stay angry at you,”_ Steve hears on the other side of the line. He nods in understanding.

“You were angry,” he states. He doesn’t blame Peter, he would be angry at himself, too.

“ _I was, but it doesn’t matter anymore. Steve, Tony’s not- he’s not doing good. They say if it doesn’t get better soon he’ll need a transplant, but I’m not a good match.”_

The voices are getting louder. Steve holds his breath for a moment when Natasha tells him to be quiet. When the group of people passes them by, she motions for him to move forward again. Quickly, Steve follows her into the garden house.

“Are you out of your mind, Steve?” Natasha then hisses at him. Steve sighs and turns around.

“It’s the liver, isn’t it?” he asks. “What’s his blood-type?”

“ _A-positive. I’m AB, though I wouldn’t have been able to donate either way.”_

“I see.”

“Steve, you better hang up real quick if you want to go to New York,” Natasha warns him. Steve nods. She’s right. He’s about to tell Peter that he needs to go when Peter suddenly starts again.

“ _Steve, what did you mean when you picked up the phone? Have you been talking to Tony lately?”_

Steve closes his eyes, counts to five. Stay calm.

“It’s nothing, really,” he lies. “He’s just been forgetting that we’re no longer together, and he keeps on calling and giving me pet-names. But I understand how that could happen, now. His brain is just… fried…”

“STEVE!” Natasha hisses again. Steve nods again. He’ll round it up.

“ _I’m sorry, Steve. I know you love him. It can’t be easy,”_ Peter states. Steve manages to smile after that, though he doesn’t really know why.

“I shouldn’t complain,” he laughs. Then Natasha suddenly punches him in the arm, giving him her murderous eyes. When Steve tries to see what got her so angry all of the sudden, he sees that, outside of the little garden house, a couple of guards start nearing it with their guns raised up. “I, uh, I nee to hang up now, son. I’m actually on a mission right now and I can see multiple guns pointed at me. I’ll talk to you later?”

And they say goodbye after that. Natasha punches him in the arm again, just for good measure.

“You couldn’t wait a few minutes longer?! I know you’re worried but damn, Steve, if they catch us now you can forget about getting to New York!”

Steve has to admit that Natasha has a point. But… when it comes to Tony, he just never really thinks rationally.

“Sorry, you’re right. How do we get out of this mess?” he asks. Natasha shuffles closer to the window, looking at how far the guards are. They’re standing still, talking to each other in their native language.

“I have a few tricks up my sleeve,” she mutters out, giving him a small grin. Then, all of the sudden, somebody shouts outside.

“AAAAAH! IS THAT A MASSIVE PANTHER?”

Steve frowns; he recognizes that voice. Isn’t that…

“Clint is helping us out. I made him, I know he doesn’t really want you to leave but he never says no to me.” With another quick look at the windows they see the guards all running towards where Clint must be. Leaving the garden house unattended, the two prepare to get out again. “You, first you silence that phone of yours.”

Steve nods, taking the device and turning down the volume. After Natasha’s happy with the result, she motions for them to get back outside.

It takes a few minutes for them to get out of the gardens. Natasha clearly prepared her whole path before coming here. Steve has to admire the way she’s prepared for it.

They’re in an open field when the phone starts vibrating against his leg. Steve tries to ignore it, running as fast as he can behind Natasha who keeps up a surprising speed that matches his own. He would never have thought her to be so fast.

The phone goes on, and on. And Steve keeps on running, but eventually he does dive into his pocket to fish it out again. While running, he picks up, putting the phone against his ear.

“Peter” he asks, wondering why the teenager would be calling again so soon.

“ _Steve! Steve, honey, please tell me where you are I can’t do this without you, wher-“_

 _“Dad! Stop it!”_ Peter yells in the background. There’s some shuffling noise, until Peter speaks up again. “ _Sorry, Steve. Dad was panicking because you aren’t here. I just thought he should hear your voice for a moment.”_

And Steve keeps running, hating that he’s not there yet, that he can’t comfort Tony like this. He keeps running, refusing to fall behind on Natasha. The palace is getting further and further away. He might feel a little bit guilty towards T’Challa for bailing on him like that.

“Tony, hey honey, I’m here, okay?” he starts. “Just listen to my voice for a bit.”

There’s nothing from the other side, but Steve knows Tony heard it.

“I’m not here right now, I’m in Wakanda, remember? With the King and the others?”

“ _But why aren’t you here? If it’s because of me, please, I’m sorry!”_

Steve shakes his head, despite the fact that Tony can’t see him. They run straight into a forest after a while, but Natasha keeps on knowing the way.

“It’s- It’s not your fault, Tony. Stuff happened, and now me and the team, we have to hide for a bit,” he explains as simply as possible. Tony can’t comprehend much more. “Just until they’ve tweaked the accords and drop the charges on us. After that, I’ll be right back with you, alright?”

“ _But do- you still love me, right?”_ Tony asks sadly. Steve’s heard breaks. “ _Even if I screwed it up?”_

 _Oh, you have no idea, Tony. No idea how much I love you, how much_ I’ve _screwed it up._

 _“_ You didn’t. But I do love you, and you love me. And we’ll be together soon, I promise,” Steve assures him. He manages to smile lightly. “Now, do you promise you will listen to Peter from now on? He’s also trying to help you.”

“ _I- I will,”_ Tony promises. Steve nods, jumping over a fallen tree. He’s aware that there’s tears over his cheeks, but he ignores them as best as he can.

“Okay, then I’ll hang up now, okay?”

 _“Okay, I love you,”_ Tony stays. Steve can’t help but sniff. If only he wasn’t crying, right now.

“I love you, too, Tony. More than you can imagine.”

He doesn’t wait for another response. He just hangs up the phone, dropping it on the ground. If everything goes right, he won’t need it anymore. He wipes the tears away from his face and hurries back to Natasha’s side. She casts one short look at him.

“You alright?” she asks. Steve nods.

“I’m fine,” he says. They keep running after that.


	2. About Toomes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve gets a weird request from Tony. He’s got a mission now, even when he’s stuck behind bars.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we have an example of how one shouldn't mess with Steve Rogers' unofficial son. At first I thought it would be a bit out of character, but then I thought; just imagine how Steve would react if anybody hurt his kid, and I thought of this exact situation, so I decided to keep it like this! It's a short one, but I wanted to bring it out there as well!

Tony returns about forty minutes after he’s been called away. Entering the visiting room, he lets his mouth fall open in confusion upon seeing only Steve sitting there with no Peter in sight. Steve clears his throat, ignoring the ache in his chest upon seeing Tony again. After all, they still have a lot to talk about.

“He realized he left his friends with Bruce and headed back,” Steve says with a shrug. Tony looks at the empty spot with a slight suspicion before nodding and carefully heading back to his former seat. For a moment, Steve fears.

Fears that Tony will go back to his distant self now that Peter is no longer in the room. That he’ll go back to ignoring him, barely looking at him. Steve already prepares himself for it, too. He puts his hands together while facing Tony, waiting for him to say something.

And Tony finally opens his mouth. He takes a deep breath, starts to speak. Steve blinks while he waits further. But then Tony stops and sags back in his seat, passing his hand over his face while turning away. And Steve’s heart aches even more. He lowers his head, eyes stuck on his twitching fingers, fumbling nervously.

“I just-“ Tony suddenly starts before stopping himself. Then, the engineer takes a deep breath, shuffles forward a bit in his seat and puts his hands on the table. “I know we have a lot of things to discuss, but I need us to put that on hold for a little while, okay?”

Steve looks back up, seeing Tony giving him his ‘ _I am serious’_ look. Steve nods, wondering what could be so important.

“There’s a prisoner here. His name’s Adrian Toomes,” Tony starts. Steve knows who it is, even got in conversation with the man once or twice, though he has no idea why he’s been taken in. He doesn’t know it about anybody, afraid that he would get angry enough at any of them to start throwing punches. His goal is to get out _early_ after all.

“What about him?” Steve asks. Tony clears his throat.

“He dropped a building on Peter’s head,” Tony says, startling Steve. He almost falls out of his seat, jumping up on his feet while he looks at the door as if he could see him standing there. The last Steve can remember about him was about an hour ago where he was stuck in another fist fight with… he doesn’t even know. Nor care.

“He _what?_!” Steve asks with a loud voice. Tony holds up his hands, shushing him, trying to keep him quiet. Steve takes a deep breath before sitting back down.

“Listen, he’s the Vulture-guy Petey was going after. And when he realized Peter was his daughter’s date to homecoming, he gave him the chance to back out, or otherwise he would kill Peter and his family.”

“I would love to see him try,” Steve grunts out. Tony rolls his eyes.

“Steve calm down for a bit,” Tony urges on. “In no way do I like this man, or agree in what he’s done. Even earlier he _dared_ to talk to Peter in the hallway when their paths crossed.”

“ _HE WHAT_?!” Steve once again jumps up.

“Damnit, Rogers sit your ass back down before the guards come inside and take you away again!”

Steve listens again, not knowing where this anger keeps on coming from. He’s never reacted this strongly to anything. But, at the same time, the idea of anybody hurting Peter… it makes Steve feel like he’s ready for murder. That’s not really okay…

“I don’t want you to off the guy, okay? Just keep an eye on him, make it clear to him that if he _ever_ tries to contact Peter again, if he would ever get to break free, the Avengers will stop him before he can even lift a single finger.”

Steve nods. He can agree to that. Why do the palms of his hands suddenly hurt that much? Steve looks down, realizing that his nails are digging into his skin. His fists are too tight… he loosens them. _Calm down, Steve. Peter’s not hurt_.

“You do know that the chances are great that I’ll punch his brains out, no matter the fact that I might end up in isolation, right?”

Tony nods in understanding.

“As long as we can ship your ass all the way to Switzerland tomorrow, you can do whatever you want.”

Steve nods, so does Tony. After that, Tony gets up with a sigh. He makes his way to the other side of the table, sitting down right next to Steve.

“Now, maybe we can get to business, now?”

Despite the anger he’s still feeling, Steve smiles up at Tony, who is seated on the table. Allowing him to take his hand into his own, Steve closes his eyes when his fingers are pressed against Tony’s lips.

Tony stays for about two more hours before he’s chased away by the guards. Visiting hours are over, and Steve is guided back to the dining hall where he’s put in line to get his food.

He catches a glimpse of Adrian Toomes somewhere on his left. He frowns the moment he sees him sitting there. There’s nobody else, which is good. As long as nobody thinks about sitting with him, he can do this as discreetly as possible.

He gets his plate, receiving a friendly look from the lady who serves it. Everybody is _extremely_ kind to him, knowing who he is despite the beard and the hair. Even some of the prisoners seem to adore him, talking about how he’s saved one of their family members or other things like that. They treat him right here, which can’t be said to the other prisoners.

He finds it a bit of a shame, the way the guards treat some of them. After all, they’re all still human beings.

Of course, he doesn’t care about Toomes. The guy tried to kill Peter. That’s enough to be hated by Steve Rogers.

Steve marches towards the table Toomes is occupying. The man only barely looks up when he sees Steve arrive, but he seems to realize immediately that there’s something wrong here. Clearing his throat, he makes place for Steve’s plate.

“Captain Rogers,” he greets him. Steve glares at him.

“Save me the formality,” he says. Then he grabs Toomes’ hand and twists it painfully, not letting go. Toomes makes a painful sound, but he knows better than to scream. He already has a black eye from his beating earlier. He surely doesn’t want to cause too much of a scene. “We have some things to talk about.”

“Of- of course,” Toomes stutters out, biting his teeth to keep himself from shouting. “Whatever you want!”

“You have a kid, right? Liz, if I’m correct?”

Toomes nods. “Elizabeth,” he groans out, but keeping himself in check as much as he can.

“Elizabeth, right,” Steve gets out. When one of the guards turn to look at them, he waves at him with a smile. Toomes does the same thing. They might be arm wrestling, for all they know. “Now, just imagine if somebody would drop a building on Elizabeth’s head. I doubt you would like that, would you?”

“I’m- I’m sor- sorry, I didn’t-“

“You didn’t _mean_ to drop a building on Peter’s head? Oh, I know, just imagine if you would have done it on purpose,” Steve hisses out, turning his wrists even more than before. He can’t describe the anger he’s feeling. He’s never done something like this before. “The way you feel about your daughter? That’s the way I feel about Peter. Because he’s my _son_. Maybe not by blood, but he might as well be.”

“I didn’t know,” Toomes stammers out. Steve decides to be nice and loosens the grip on the wrist slightly.

“Of course you didn’t know. But _that_ shouldn’t be a reason to stop you from dropping buildings on kids.”

Steve is fuming even more, the longer he speaks. He should be careful before he breaks the guy’s wrist without meaning to. He loosens his grip completely, almost throwing him away from him. Being near this man makes him feel sick.

“You can be sure that the next time you go after Peter Parker, you will have _all_ of the Avengers coming after you. You understand?”

Toomes nods nervously, rubbing his painful wrist, his face red. He looks genuinely scared. Good, that’s what Steve was aiming for.

“Good talk,” he then says, taking his plate back in hands and standing up. “Now I’ll go search actual _good_ company.”

And Steve walks off, leaving a scared Adrian Toomes behind on his place at the table. 


	3. Proof that Tony Stark has an Awesome Son

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter realizes that he doesn’t have a Christmas present for Tony. Luckily, he has a lot of people he can ask for help!

 

What do you give the person that can buy everything?

Peter is put in front of a mystery. He’s asked Ned, Harry, even MJ. None of them came up with a good response. A Spa day? A new tie? A goddamn watch? No way, that’s just lame, after all!

Wade’s idea to build him a spaceship that will allow him to go to space might have been something completely else, but even Peter realizes that it’s not a realistic goal! Yaël just said something about presents being overrated. Peter figures she’s just bitter because she’s probably never gotten anything in her life before. That’s a worry for later!

Wanda and Vision offer him to try and build something. But while Vision tells him to go for something practical, Wanda says to make something that comes out from her heart. In the end, Peter left the two as they were starting up an argument he didn’t want to be a part of.

Aunt Sharon says that she used to give him a good drink, but that it’s not a possibility anymore. She, too, is in search for something else. Rhodey suggests raiding through the workshop for a bit until he comes across anything.

So that’s what Peter does. After school, he takes the cab to Stark Tower, going upstairs by the private elevator. He’s greeted by FRIDAY, and ends up spending the following ten minutes trying to pry Butterfingers, U and Dum-E off him. With the way they keep on greeting him, one would think he never spends any time with the two bots.

“Fellas, come on! Help me find something good that I can give Dad, okay?” Peter asks the bots. U rolls towards the fridge in a speed tempo, Butterfingers shaking its head up and down excitedly and Dum-E poking him in the side. Any outsider would think they’re severely malfunctioning.

“ _Are you looking for anything in particular?”_ FRIDAY asks Peter as he starts his search through the archived inventions that he’s put aside or discarded in the past few years. Knowing Tony Stark, he never throws it away with the thought that he’ll finish it later. Peter frowns when he comes up to the very first edition of the Stark Phone. What an old thing!

“Some inspiration! It’s almost Christmas and May asked me if I have a present yet but I don’t have anything!” Peter almost shouts in frustration, shutting the first hatch and reaching for the second. “Why aren’t these alphabetical!”

“ _They’re mostly chronological,”_ FRIDAY counters. “ _You are currently looking at prototypes from back in 1994. Any earlier creations he’s made have not been kept.”_

“When’s it that Dad stepped out of the weapon’s business?” Peter asks.

“ _2008,”_ FRIDAY returns. “ _I’ll light up the drawer.”_ And true to her word, a light starts shining somewhere on Peter’s right. Peter hurries to it, opening it up until he finds things that _don’t_ look like they’re meant for instant kill.

Thinking about Instant Kill, he really needs to have a word with Tony about that.

“There’s not much in here?” Peter asks.

“ _Back in 2008, Mr. Stark mostly began working on the Iron Man suit and perfecting it,”_ she explains. Peter groans, shutting the drawer again when all he can find is the first few versions of the gauntlets and the mask. Instead he moves on to the following years. Once he gets to 2012, there’s a surprising lack of _anything_. Peter groans again right before he sees a glowing blue light.

Opening the drawer a bit further, he finds something that looks like the arc reactor. Not the same one Peter built. More like an older, rougher version. Carefully, Peter takes it in his hands, surprised that it’s still warm.

“Where are Dad’s other arc reactors?” Peter asks, turning the thing around and inspecting the cables attached to it.

“ _They’re all in their corresponding built year. You must have looked over them since they look different to the one you’ve built,”_ FRIDAY offers. Peter hums before putting the device back down. “ _The one you were holding is actually a copy of the original, since Mr. Stark threw the one he’d been using into the ocean.”_

“Figures,” Peter snorts. He closes the drawer again, looking over his shoulder towards what he suspects is the last drawer. “What happened with _my_ arc reactor?”

It’s not that he wants to do anything with it, but in all honesty they both must have forgotten about it in all the drama. Now that it’s mostly over, he wants to have another look at it. L-

“ _It’s put in storage for safety reasons. You can find it under the light,”_ FRIDAY instructs, lighting up the last drawer much like Peter would have expected. He gets on his feet, hurrying to open it. He sees it lying instantly, separated from the others. It’s put in a glass box, a note written on it.

 _Created by Peter Parker, age 16_.

Peter smiles, feeling fondness when he realizes that his Dad is keeping his creations. Especially when he sees the forgotten project of his bot somewhere there as well. He should finish it one day!

Oh, how he sounds like his dad, now…

Peter takes the glass case and opens it up, taking his reactor in his hands. It’s just as warm as the other one, just letting out a bright blue shine for nobody really.

“ _Is there anything in particular that you plan on doing with the reactor?”_ FRIDAY asks. Peter shrugs.

“Not really,” he says. Then he clears his throat. “Say, what’s the time?”

“ _Almost six.”_

“Shit! I need to leave now if I want to see Steve!” Peter almost shouts out. He jumps up, closing the drawer and throwing the arc reactor back in his bag. He refuses the shake U prepared for him, and digs his way through Butterfinger’s and Dum-E’s loving ‘cuddles’.

By the time he arrives at the prison, Tony is already inside, looking up at Peter with an amused smile. Instead of commenting on his tardiness, he just pulls up the third chair and drops his cards.

“New game?” he asks Steve, who nods in agreement and puts his cards down as well. Clint, Scott and Sam groan.

“C’mon, man, I was going to win!” he complains. Tony just snorts and collects the cards.

“Don’t tell me you don’t want my son to play?” he asks with a smirk. Clint and Sam both shut their mouths, while Scott just leans back in his chair and waves his hand.

“No, no, us bugs have to support each other, after all!” he says, winking at Peter who gives him a knowing smile.

“Actually, spiders aren’t bugs, but-“

“Whatever! You don’t have to repeat it all the time, man!” Scott complains, sad that his joke has failed once again. Peter will never let him have that one, because Scott’s just fun to mess with. As Tony deals in the cards again, Steve turns towards Peter.

“Did something happen? Why are you late?” he asks in concern. Peter shakes his head.

“No, no, nothing happened. I was just… messing around in the workshop and lost track of time,” he admits. Clint chuckles at that.

“Yup, Tony, that’s your kid alright,” he says. Tony rolls his eyes.

“Just take your cards, Legolas,” he counters. Clint gives him a glare, but does as he’s asked. Once everybody has their deck, they start up a game, pretending to be any good at it. In all honesty, the only ones who can play are Clint and Tony. Though, with Clint, it was probably a requirement for being a super-spy.

Tony wins the first game, followed by Clint in the second and, much surprising, Scott in the third. After what must be an hour and half of playing, Tony leans back in his chair and throws his hands up while scraping the seat back.

“I’m just- going to toilet for a bit,” he mutters out. Passing Peter, he goes through his hair _again_. Before he can get out, Steve grabs his hand and presses a kiss to his fingers. The other four people in the room groan out while shielding their eyes.

“Come on! Don’t be mushy!” Clint complains. But to be honest, both Steve and Tony have been keeping themselves in for a while now. Keeping their physical touch to a minimum, only with the barest of touches, they’re actually behaving quite alright.

Nonetheless, Peter loves to mess around with the other, less mature Avengers who don’t all act the age they’re supposed to be.

“Go suck on a lemon, Barton,” Tony throws back, pointing at Clint with a light glare. The archer laughs at that, but he doesn’t respond. Then, Tony turns to Steve. “Honey, I know I’m irresistible, but I _really_ need to take a leak.” 

Steve lets go of him almost immediately after that. “Right, you should go.”

And so Tony goes. The moment the door closes behind him, Peter almost smashes his hands on the table and turns to the four men in the room with eyes wide.

“Guys! I was searching around for a Christmas present for Tony but I don’t have any ideas! What do you buy somebody who can afford anything?”

The men blink in surprise, before giving each other a quick look. Scott is the first one to throw his hands in the air.

“I’m sorry, I don’t know your old man that well, I’m afraid,” he admits. Peter can understand that. He’s not going to mention that he was more addressing Clint, Steve and Sam. Though even with Sam it’s not clear if the two got along that well.

“D’you have any ideas yet?” Clint asks, leaning back a bit after the suddenness of Peter’s question has worn off.

“No! I mean, my friends all suggested things but I can’t give Tony a stupid watch or a Spa-day!”

Sam snorts. “He might enjoy a Spa-day if a certain super soldier is to join him,” he says with a wink. In return, he gets a punch in the arm from said super soldier.

“And that’s why you were late?” Steve asks, sounding a bit concerned. Peter sighs before dropping his head on the table.

“I thinking about making something, but I didn’t have any inspiration. FRIDAY suggested I should go look through his old archive of inventions over the years.”

Steve looks forward in a pensive way, turning to Sam who simply shrugs.

“Sorry, man, Tony and I never really hung out so I don’t know him,” he returns. Clint, too, shakes his head.

“I would suggest maybe an awesome coffee machine? The guy likes his coffee…”

But that’s not a good idea. “He only just finished his latest edition of the Starkbucks. And before you mention the name, we all told him it wasn’t a good idea. He’s insistent.”

“I’m not surprised,” Clint laughs out. “Listen, kid, I would suggest asking the supreme Tonypedia of them all. The one who has been buying him gifts for the past ten years or so?”

Peter nods, leaning forward a bit more as he waits for his answer. Clint seems surprised that Peter’s not coming up with his own answer here.

“Pepper, Peter, I mean Pepper.”

Peter leans back, mouth open as he nods in understanding. He would have expected Rhodey or something, but given that the man is out of town for his revalidation the following week it’s not like he can just ask him.

Steve nods in agreement. “I think Pepper’s your best shot, indeed. I mean, she knows him through and through, being his assistant for years.” Peter smiles happily, about to say something when the door suddenly opens up again.

“You guys talking about me?” he asks jokingly. “I mean, of course you are, I’m awesome, after all.”

“Steve was actually just telling us about your singing talents underneath the shower,” Clint throws back. Steve’s cheeks turn bright red after that and he jumps up.

“I did not!” he counters, but Tony laughs as he puts his hand on Steve’s chest, giving Clint a pleased look.

“Please, my singing skills should not surprise anyone,” he says. “You know I once sung a song for an old girlfriend. With Sting, of all people. She loved it, obviously, because I’m good.”

“Then I expect you to sing a song on Steve’s next birthday, okay?” Sam suggests. Peter grins widely while Steve just turns redder by the second.

“I’ll make a show out of it.” Tony returns. Patting Steve on the chest once more, he moves away from him and heads back to his seat. “Say, you think Nat would want to sing a song, too? I heard her sing one of her scary Russian lullabies once. She might put up a real good horror show there.”

“You can ask, but you might not survive,” Clint says with a wink. Peter laughs, too, for a moment just leaning back and enjoying the company. After another hour, he and Tony say their goodbyes to them. It doesn’t surprise Peter that Tony is very talkative the entire drive home. He tries as much as he can to act normal, but right now all he wants to do is find Pepper and ask her about it.

If Tony notices his change of behavior, he doesn’t point it out. Instead, after they’ve gone out of the elevator, he just squeezes Peter’s shoulder and heads for the kitchenette.

“I’ll warm up the leftovers. You good?”

Peter nods. “I’m fine, Dad. Just gonna clean up my mess in the workshop for a bit.” He points towards the elevator that leads to the workshop. Tony nods with a smile.

“I’ll have FRI call you when it’s ready.” Peter waves at him before leaving the room. He runs into the elevator, thinking first about going to Pepper’s office but eventually thinking better of it. It Tony would ask where he is, FRIDAY would tell him. Besides, she might not even be at the tower right now. For all he knows, she’s back in LA. He doesn’t keep tabs on where Pepper is all the time.

So he goes to the workshop, lives through the loving greeting from Dum-E, U and Butterfingers once again, and sits himself down at his desk while the bots go out their way to get him something to drink. As usual. He doesn’t even stop them.

“FRI, can you call Pepper for me? And don’t tell Dad about this, it’s a surprise for him!”

 _“Of course, Peter,”_ FRIDAY says. After all, she doesn’t _have_ to do all he says now, anymore. Not since Tony tweaked her code a little bit after the Goblin incident.

Pepper’s face shows up on the screen, and given the background, Tony knows that she’s back in Malibu. After she and Tony broke up, Tony let her live in the house – or is it a mansion? He doesn’t know – they’ve rebuilt after it’d been blown up. Peter can see Happy walking around there somewhere behind her, cursing about something.

“ _Peter, is there something wrong with Tony?”_ Pepper asks. Peter can’t blame her; after all, he never really calls her up for a chat.

“Hi, uh, yeah! I was wondering if, maybe, you could help me out with something?” Peter asks. Pepper looks a bit surprised at the question but then smiles.

“ _Uh, sure honey. Just tell me what you need?”_ Peter tries not to react too much at the idea of Pepper calling him ‘honey’. He’s already getting close to calling her Aunt as well. Just like with Nat.

“Well, it’s about Christmas,” he starts. Then he explains everything that he’s been thinking about, bringing up his friends’ suggestions, the Avengers’, and eventually his idea to build him something, himself. Pepper listens to everything, giving him a fonder look with every second.

“ _Peter, I can assure you that Tony wouldn’t want_ anything _from you. You’re his greatest gift, after all,”_ Pepper says after a while. Peter snorts at that.

“Right, as if,” he mutters out. Pepper shakes her head a bit sadly.

“ _I mean it, Peter. The way Tony talks about you… He thinks of you as his everything, you see? In my opinion, Tony just needs a bit more affirmation that he’s actually your Dad.”_

“But we have the official documents and the DNA-tests?” Peter tries. Pepper shakes her head.

“ _No, I mean, something coming from you. It could be a letter, a portrait of the two of you. Just something that will remind him that he’s got a son who loves him.”_

Peter sighs. He’s got even less inspiration, now. But Pepper starts up again.

“ _Once, in the beginning of the Iron Man, Tony didn’t think he was worth much. He hated himself for the part he played in the selling of his weapons. So I figured I needed to cheer him up again, prove that he’s not that horrible. And you know what I had made?”_

Peter shakes his head. And so, Pepper starts explaining. And Peter listens, taking in every word. And after the call ends he starts working on it immediately.

On Christmas Day, he hands Tony the package. And Tony gives him a surprised look as he opens it up, tearing the paper from the glass box and letting his mouth fall open from the surprise he’s seeing in front of him.

And Peter looks proudly at his creation; the Arc Reactor, on a little stand. The text he’s written out messily but as good as he can.

 _Proof that Tony Stark has an awesome son_.

But, when Peter is hugged so tightly that he would think he’d never be freed again, the only thing that crosses his mind is that _this_ is the proof Peter Parker has an awesome Dad.


	4. A Parent's loss

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony Stark faces his worst fear during the battle against Thanos.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Before you read this, be aware that this part is dark. Pretty dark. The title says it pretty much.  
> The idea came up on me when I saw the trailer, and I almost immediately wrote this. I am evil, very much evil, but at the same time I feel like this is a good possibility, given how young Peter still is, and how naïve. Be sure you are aware that this timestamp can be shocking.  
> If there's going to be a sequel of the story, it's going to build on further on what happened here. 
> 
> Chapter warnings in the end notes.
> 
> EDIT: This timestamp will no longer be relevant to the story, as we have decided to follow more of the aspects of Infinity War when we write that part out. Despite that, we'll leave this one up on the timestamps, as some sort of 'alternate universe', perhaps! :-)

It looks like even the sky is burning. What used to always be blue and bright is now red, yellow, burning into everybody’s eyes. The blood of all their fallen comrades, a reminder of what they’ve all lost.

It’s a field full of bodies. Corpses of people that have been trying their best to keep their world free. Face empty, eyes open wide, mouth loose. Never will they speak again. No more words will come rolling over their lips. Tony didn’t know all of these people personally, but he's sure that they're one of the bravest persons in the world..

The Avengers are still standing, though barely. Vision is knocked out – Tony can’t imagine how it must have hurt, having the stone ripped out of his head like that – and Clint’s missing in action somewhere. They know he’s alive; he’s left signs. But were he is, nobody knows.

“He’s only in need of two more stones,” Thor says, left eye glowing blue, but fainter than before. He’s breathless, his power waning. There’s blood splattered all over his face. Tony is aware he’s grieving for his fellow Asgardians that have fought along with them.

“Soul and Time, I know. But where is Soul?” Rhodey curses out. His suit has taken damage, but he’s still good to go. He has a large wound on his forehead, which will surely leave a scar. Tony would have wanted him to stay out of the action for at least a little while longer. They don’t have the luxury of wanting things.

“Heimdall?” Thor asks, but the Asgardian next to him shakes his head.

“I was once in possession of the Infinity Stone. Because of it, I am able to do what I can do. But I know it’s here,” the man says. In the beginning, Tony had been fascinated by his low voice. Heimdall seems like the kind of guy that could just read a damn telephone book and entertain people.

“Damn it!” Barnes curses. “Don’t stand together, you’re an easier target, idiots!” He runs away from the little group that has collected. Tony agrees, forcing himself to run off. He has since long lost the ability to fly. His link with FRIDAY is lost, too. But above him, he can see Rhodey and Pepper hover in the air.

Giving Pepper the Rescue Suit was probably the best thing he could have done. Sure, the woman never really wanted _anything_ to do with the business, but she’s damn good at it. With her reflexes, one would even say she’s been trained for it for years.

Tony finds Steve again after a while. The super soldier is slashing his shield in everything, letting out shouts of anger while his longer hair swings wildly into the air. But even Tony can see that, while he’s giving it his all right now, he’s close to exhaustion as well. It’s going on for too long, but they aren’t getting any closer to winning. With every passing second, more of their comrades fall.

But suddenly, Steve stops, face full of surprise as he presses his com link closer to his ear. Tony can’t hear anything anymore, every communication device he has is fried.

“WHAT?!” Steve suddenly shouts, turning towards the middle of everything. They’re not too far away, seeing the cause of all the destruction standing there proudly, swinging fists around like it’s just a walk in the park. With every swing, about five of Wakanda’s warriors go flying.

“Steve, what’s wrong?” Tony asks with a loud voice as he uses his repulsors to keep a few aliens away from his partner. Steve turns to Tony with the biggest fear Tony’s ever seen in his eyes.

“It’s Peter,” he breathes out. Then he points towards Thanos, who is being approached by a certain young teenager currently in a brand-new iron suit. So far, it doesn’t seem like the big guy knows he’s coming, but that luck won’t last. Every attempt at sneaking up on him has failed. Too many have lost their lives for it.

“PETER!” Tony shouts before he can think better of it. Steve takes care of the two aliens that are trying to get to him before he starts running in Peter’s direction. Tony hurries behind him. They won’t get to Peter in time, won’t be able to stop him. He’s going to get hurt. No, he’s going to get killed.

Not on Tony’s watch!

Oh, if only he could fly right now!

His fear becomes reality when all of the sudden the big guy turns around, right when Peter wants to strike. Oh, that naïve boy! He should have known better!

_Damn it, damn it, DAMN IT!_

Tony’s fuming when Peter is held in a choke hold, his legs swinging into the air as he tries to free himself.

“Tony!” Steve shouts, trying to know if Tony sees it, too.

“I know! Get there!” he snaps back. There’s no time to be kind right now. His son’s life is on the line! He can’t even afford to be sad about all the corpses he has to run over. They can mourn about that later.

There’s no sound around him, everything surrounding him blurring. The only clear thing is the giant holding his son in one hand, lifting him up like he weights nothing. His mouth is moving, but Tony doesn’t know what he’s saying.

Then he raises his other fist, preparing himself to throw a punch. Tony shouts, tears in his eyes already forming. He’ll be too late! He won’t get there in time! But then the fist stops midair. Thanos’ head turns to the side, as if he’s being spoken to. Tony can’t see who it is. Whoever it is, he’s fucking grateful for buying them time.

He’s getting closer. Just a little while longer, and he’ll be there to get his Peter, to take care of his boy. He doesn’t care if he gets hurt himself, as long as his son is spared. Thanos can do with Tony whatever he wants. He can’t touch a single hair on Peter’s head.

 _I should never have let him join!_ But even if he didn’t, Peter would have come anyway. There’s no way in hell he would have sit back during this.

The fist loosens, opens. A big hand reaches out for something, and someone is raised into the air. Tony still can’t see who it is. He isn’t trying to find out, as long as Peter can just manage to swing his feet around. Kick, as hard as he can, and Tony is assured that he’s okay.

Then something small, glowing, flies into the large hand. _Infinity Stone_ , his mind tells him, and he knows exactly which one. The Soul stone. Who-ever’s been stalling Thanos probably offered the stone in return for Peter’s safety. This person is Tony’s hero from now on.

A short look at the stone, and for a moment it seems like he’s going to put Peter down. Tony sighs in relief. Good, the guy must be a man of his word.

He can’t describe the horror he feels when, all of the sudden, he takes Peter by the face and turns his neck around. Tony can’t literally hear the crack, but he imagines it all too well. Both him and Steve stand still, breathless, as they watch Peter’s lifeless body fall down on the ground.

There’s ringing in his ears, and a pressure in his eyes. Tony’s teeth are clattering as he looks at the scene before him. Is it him, or is he shaking?

Steve yells, louder than Tony has ever heard him yell before. With his shield raised, he starts running again. Going faster and faster, relentlessly, Steve digs his way through the multiple enemies to get to the monster. The murderer.

“Peter,” Tony suddenly mutters. Because it can’t be true at all, can it? There’s no way that Peter can be dead, right? He’s just a kid, after all. About to turn eighteen in just a month. He should be going to the Empire State University. Should be graduating this year, take a lovely girl as his date for homecoming.

He shouldn’t be dead, lifeless, cold. Eyes empty. He can’t be.

Tony storms through the crowd as well. Even attempting to fly again, his left boot valiantly sputters out a little bit before failing. It helps him forward at least a little bit. He’s getting closer, and closer. Steve has reached _him_ , is already ready to pound on him. He’s not giving him enough time to even fight back. But even Tony knows that Steve can’t do any damage to him. The only thing that can help is…

As if on cue, the Hulk appears, roaring just as angrily as Steve. He grabs Thanos by the neck, and starts throwing him on the ground.

“THANOS KILLED HULK’S FRIEND!” he shouts out. Tony doesn’t listen further to it. Having finally reached Peter, he drops down on his knees and reaches out for him. He’s aware of the other person lying down on their back. Loki is already sitting by them, so Tony can only just imagine who it is.

“Peter, honey, wake up,” Tony whispers out. He jumps out of his suit, pulling Peter’s off as well. Knowing everything about the iron spider, he removes it completely, taking Peter’s frail form into his arms. Pulling him close to himself, he starts rocking him around. “C’mon baby boy, open those eyes, huh? Give me something.”

Tony strokes through his hair, passes his fingers over Peter’s cheeks.

“Peter? Hey!” His eyes hurt. So does his throat. Is he crying? He can’t even feel it anymore. “Please, just breathe.”

But Peter doesn’t. He does nothing. His eyes are shut, mouth closed. He looks peaceful, like he’s just in a very deep sleep.

“You’re okay,” Tony mumbles out, trying more to convince himself. Because Peter’s okay, he can’t be gone. He’s still here, right? He’s right here in Tony’s arms, and surely he’ll start breathing again soon, won’t he?

“Damn it Peter, stay with me, you hear me?! Don’t you dare leave me! Just stay with me!”

Is he shouting? He doesn’t even know. His whole body hurts, his fingers searching all over Peter’s neck, trying to find anything that might prove as a sign of life. But there’s nothing. Peter’s whole body is limp, lifeless.

Tony pulls him even closer, putting his head against Peter’s chest. Maybe he can hear it, right? He can focus on the sound, can drown out everything else until he finds the heartbeat. With his ear pressed on Peter’s ribcage, he listens. And he waits, for the one pump of Peter’s heart that will indicate that he’s alright.

It never comes. And slowly, Tony is realizing that it’s no use. His fingers almost squeeze through Peter’s arms as he hugs him against him. Rocking his fallen son’s body around, he feels every bit of control leaving his body.

“Please, Peter,” he cries out through his sobs. The tears run freely over his cheeks now, his head is pounding. He puts Peter’s face against his shoulder, resting his hand behind his head to keep him stable. There’s nothing more he can do but hold his boy in his arms. There’s nothing more that he _wants_ to do.

“Oh, no,” he hears Steve breathe out behind him. Then the shield falls down on the ground, and footsteps are nearing Tony. But Tony’s tears don’t stop even as Steve wraps his arms around both of them, too.

“C’mon baby boy, wake up for us, okay? Steve’s here now, so you just stay with us,” Tony mutters against his son’s head. Steve holds him even tighter.

“Tony, don’t-“ he starts, but Tony starts shaking his head wildly.

“NO! JUST DON’T SAY IT! THAT’S OUR BOY!”

“I know, Tony, but it’s not safe here, we can’t stay.”

“I’M NOT LEAVING WITHOUT MY SON!”

Somebody is speaking through the comm link, he can hear it even from here. Steve sighs against Tony’s shoulder.

“Understood, we’ll be there,” he says with a shaky voice. Then he sniffs his nose and clears his throat. “Tony, we need to move, Strange found a place we can regroup for a moment and think of a new plan.”

“Just go, then,” Tony whispers. “I’m staying with Peter.”

Steve sighs and gets up, shaking Tony’s shoulder for a bit.

“Come on, let me carry him, you get back in the suit,” he offers. Tony shakes his head again, rocking his boy back and forth. “Please, Tony. We can get him somewhere safely.”

Tony lets out another sob, but then loosens his grip on Peter at last. He nods, though the heaviness in his chest is just _too_ strong. It feels like an entire building has been dropped on him. Granted, there has been, but that’s not really what matters now.

Steve takes Peter over from him in such a gentle way, one would think he just doesn’t want to wake him. Making sure that his head doesn’t just hang there lifelessly, he makes sure that it’s resting against his shoulder as he stands up. Tony lets the suit surround him again, but it’s not much use anymore. He takes Steve’s shield, too, after he asks for it.

“Okay, tell Strange to get us,” Steve says. There’s an affirming voice on the other side of Steve’s commlink, and then a round portal appears before them. “We must be quick before anybody follows us.”

The two move inside the floating circle. Even going through it, it doesn’t feel like they’ve been travelling who knows how far. It’s more like they’re just going to the next room. There, in what seems like an abandoned underground bunker, stand a few of the remaining Avengers. Tony can see Barnes with Natasha, Thor, his brother Loki and Peter’s friend Yaël. Then there’s Scott, Wanda, Rhodey, the Guardians... There’s no Pepper, no Clint or Sam, or T’Challa. The Fantastic Four have been missing for a long while as well.

“Welcome,” Strange suddenly says, removing the portal behind them. Nobody says anything in return. Instead, Steve walks towards an empty corner where he carefully puts Peter back down. Tony jumps back out of his suit, dropping the shield again. He can’t be next to Peter too soon. Taking his boy back into his arms, he takes Peter’s hand and puts his fingers against his lips.

“Oh, no, don’t say-“ Natasha starts. Steve clears his throat.

“Is there a new plan to kill the bastard?” he asks with a low, menacing voice that even surprises Tony. Steve, turning into a blood cold killer? Thanos _really_ pissed him off.

“Nothing yet. Short of travelling back in time and prevent Thanks from ever getting all these Infinity Stones,” Loki offers.

“Such a feat is not possible, brother,” Thor counters.

“It is; the Time stone is here. The sorcerer can use it. It’s quite simple actually,” the God of mischief states. Everybody turns towards Strange. Even Tony looks up with tears still in his eyes, holding Peter close to him. He’s probably only imagining him getting colder, right?

“I will not travel back in time! Such a feat is dangerous and could have disastrous consequences!” Strange protests.

“More disastrous than they are right now?!” Barnes shouts out angrily. Then he points towards Tony and Peter. “Look at this! Look at what is happening outside! How can things get worse?! We’ve lost too many people already!”

“And we might lose everybody if we try going back!” Strange sighs. “Besides, he’s still missing two stones, right?”

“Actually, he is not,” Loki counters. Next to him, Yaël nods with a guilty expression.

“He took the soul gem,” she admits. “The Time gem is the last one he needs.”

The whole room turns quiet. Tony sniffs once again before he carefully lets go of Peter and gets back on his feet. Then he marches towards Strange, and despite the guy being that much taller than him the sorcerer jumps away nervously.

“I just lost my _son_! My kid. MY BOY! And you have the ability to go back and make sure that he won’t have his neck snapped by that purple bastard out there.”

“Personal matters aren’t enough to-“

“YOU GIVE ME MY SON BACK YOU ASSHOLE!” Tony shouts, punching him on the chest. Steve jumps behind him to pull him back, but Tony keeps on struggling. “YOU CAN BRING US BACK SO JUST DO IT SO I CAN KEEP HIM SAFE DAMN IT!”

“Tony,” Steve whispers to him. Tony shakes his head.

“I had _one_ job, the moment I met this kid; keep him _safe_! And I failed! I lost one of the most important person in my life. And you’re telling me that there’s a way for me to have him back, but you just won’t do it because the world might explode? IT’LL EXPLODE NONETHELESS!”

“Tony, please, calm down,” Steve begs of him. Tony only realizes now that he’s sobbing again, now leaning back against Steve as he stops his struggling. He closes his eyes, but the tears still run freely.

“Please, Stephen,” Tony begs. “He’s my little boy.”

Strange stays quiet. His face looks sad, and his eyes are lowered. Then with a sigh, he nods, reaching for the necklace around his neck. Then he moves his hands outwards, and the Eye opens, letting out a bright green light.

“Last time I tried this, it was only a few minutes,” Strange admits. “I can’t take us all to where the Asgardians find Thanos in space. That’s too far. But I can go a few days. Enough for us to face him before he gets to the Aether and the Orb.”

“We can go and warn Xandar and the Collector if it’s not too late,” Quill offers. Everybody nods, though nobody’s sure what the chances are that Thanos won’t have already been there. “Maybe we can try and use the orb like last time?”

They formulate a plan. Nobody really involves Tony or Steve, who are still holding each other as they look at Peter’s still form, kneeling down next to them. It’s going to be alright, they’ll go back, and Tony can make sure that Peter will never get hurt by that bastard.

And given Steve’s fury, Tony’s sure he’ll want and kill the monster before he can ever try and set foot on Earth.

Strange warns them when he activates the eye. Green light emerges from his hands, but nothing really seems to change. That is, until something invisible lifts Peter back up, and brings him back through the portal they came through.

“You’re all out of time, so to say,” Strange explains. Steve and Tony both stand up, blinking a bit in confusion. When they look through the portal, they can see everything happening in rewind. Explosions become undone. People who have fallen, rise back up. Tony takes a deep breath, and closes his eyes as he waits.

By the time he opens them again, he’s back in the bathroom in the middle of shaving while Steve is in the shower.

“DAAAAD! WE’LL BE LATE!” Peter shouts in the background. Tony drops his razor immediately. The door to the shower flies open, and Steve jumps out of it. He grabs a towel, while Tony doesn’t even bother to cover up. His underwear is enough. He just needs to see Peter, to hold him.

So they run, both of them. Hurrying outside, they find themselves in the hallway where they see Peter heading their way. Alive, healthy. _There_.

Peter shouts in surprise when there are suddenly two very strong adults pulling him into their arms. Tony doesn’t care that he’s just in his underwear, or that Steve is dripping wet. He has his boy back in his arms. Peter’s breathing, living. His heart is pumping again.

“Hey, what’s wrong guys?” Peter asks in confusion. Tony shakes his head, only now noticing that there are tears in his eyes.

“You wouldn’t believe us even if we told you,” he mutters out, only pulling Peter closer to them.

“That may be so, but c’mon, we’ll be late for the fundraising! You know Pepper will kill us if we’re not there in time.”

Tony sniffs, so does Steve.

“Please, just… let us hold you for a little while longer, Peter,” Steve mumbles out. Peter opens his mouth to speak, but then he closes it again.

In the end, they were an hour late to a party they went to for the second time in their knowledge. But the only thing that matters to Steve and Tony both is keeping Peter in the dark. He doesn’t need to know about it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter warnings:
> 
> \- Major Character death (though temporarily)  
> \- A parent losing their kid  
> \- Description of battle and war  
> \- lots of bodies and dead people


	5. (In)correct Quotes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Small conversations that Peter sometimes hears between Steve and Tony

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been going through the 'Incorrect Stony Quote-tag' all day. This came out of it. To make sure that I didn't steal these quotes, I added a permalink to every quote I used!

It’s been another long day at school. Even after passing the math test and pretending to stumble during gym in order to make people believe he’s anything but good at sports, he, along with Ned, Wanda and Harry managed to get himself in a snow-ball battle. But to be fair, him and Ned against Harry and Wanda does not seem like fair fight. Nonetheless, it was quite fun despite the fact that they've lost big time.

Now, after having replaced his wet clothes and taking a warm shower, Peter wonders what he could do with what remains of his day. He hasn't seen his Dad or Steve around so far, but he knows Bruce is somewhere in his own lab. 

"FRI? Is Bruce busy at the moment?" Peter asks while heading to the kitchenette and get himself a hot cup of coco. 

" _Dr. Banner is currently on the phone,"_ FRIDAY responds. " _Though young master Storm is approaching the penthouse. Do you wish to let him in?"_

Peter looks up from the water heater, head turning towards the door immediately. "Sure," he says, already pulling out a second mug from the cupboard. "Let him in the moment he's here." 

" _Of course, Peter,"_ FRIDAY responds. Not even five seconds after that, the door flies open and Johnny walks in with a scarf around his throat and a bonnet on his head. Even from where Peter is standing, he can see that the boy's not well. 

"Fucking snow," Johnny mutters, walking towards the kitchenette and sitting down at the counter in front of Peter. When he's handed a mug with chocolate milk, he accepts it wordlessly. "Thanks."

"It's still cold, but I'm sure that's no problem for you," Peter says with a grin. Johnny snorts before blowing into his drink. In just a matter of seconds it's heated up. Then he holds out his hand towards Peter.

"Hand me yours. I'm sure that'll be faster than that piece of crap."

Peter grins. "Hey, that's my Dad's technology you're talking about," he returns, but still following suit. After his drink is heated as well, the two stand back up and get to the couch where Peter starts up the television. 

Johnny sneezes a few times. Peter doesn't point it out, but just hands him paper handkerchiefs to blow his nose. The news is on, but nothing much is happening. 

After a while, there's a door opening further away. Peter turns his head to the side, but he can't see anybody yet. It must come from the hallway. 

"- have it checked out, but I'm not sure we'll like the answer," Tony says in the background. Peter gives Johnny a look, telling him to stay quiet. Johnny just gives him a blunt stare in return. He's not planning on talking anytime soon. 

"I know, Tones. We never like these kind of things," Steve returns. They don't notice Peter and Johnny sitting on the couch when they get into the room. Heading to the kitchenette, Steve starts preparing himself a cup of coffee while Tony sits down, stretching his arms and groaning a bit. When he puts his hands on his back, he hisses in pain.

"Holy crap, dear, you gave it all... I think I actually pulled a [muscle](https://incorrectstuckyquotes.tumblr.com/post/163527751399/tony-i-think-i-pulled-a-muscle-steve-you-cant)," he complains. Peter makes a disgusted face. Given the fact that they came out of their bedroom, that can't mean much good. 

But Steve just chuckles as he pours the coffee into Tony's mug. "You can't pull what you don't have." 

Johnny and Peter's mouth fall open, just as their eyes open wide as well. Tony, too, falls a bit silent after that, stopping mid-movement while he was stretching his arm. Then, both Johnny and Peter burst it out in laughter. Steve and Tony startle, turning towards the two teenagers who are getting tears in their eyes and aches in their stomach. After that, Tony stands up, taking his cup of coffee and kissing Steve on the cheek. 

"For that, no more sex for you this week," he tells him lowly. After that, he moves away from the kitchenette and joins the two teenagers on the couch. "Now what are we watching?" 

"We're putting up _Jaws_ ," Peter says in between his laughter. "You wanna join?"

"Sure," Tony says, taking up his tablet and putting it on his lap. 

Meanwhile, in the background, they can hear Steve protest on everything that just happened. 

 

* * *

 

 

When Peter enters the workshop, he's not too surprised to see Steve sitting at the desk next to Tony. He drops his bag, evades Dum-E loose affectionate arm, and salutes the pair sitting there. 

"Hi," he greets them. Tony doesn't respond, but Steve looks up and give him a smile.

"Hey, Pete, how was school?" he asks. Peter shrugs, leaning forward to catch a glimpse of what Tony is making. 

"It was alright, Mr. Collins gave us back our Chemistry test, and I aced it," he says, as if it's not that big of a deal. To be honest, it's not really. It's not like it's hard for him to get an A+. "What are you making?"

Steve hums a bit in thought. "I think he said something about a picture directly on paper?" he offers. 

"You're making a polaroid?" Peter wonders out loud. Tony sighs and shakes his head.

"Uh, no, Polaroid is a brand. Besides, it's outdated as well," Tony mutters, sticking out his tongue when he tries to put two small wires together. He jumps back when it suddenly sparks. "That's not supposed to do that."

"Actually, dad, Polaroid pictures are back in. It's retro and stuff," Peter returns, remembering seeing MJ walking around with one as she started taking picutres of random miserable-looking students. 

"I know, that's why I'm making this." Tony holds up the small device he's putting together. "They'll work as glasses, and it'll photograph exactly what you see, send it out to this little monster and print out the picture. At least with that you'll  _know_ what you're shooting." 

Steve blinks a few times, not really understanding it completely. Peter can't help but be at least a little bit impressed. 

"Sounds cool," he says. Then he moves away, getting back to his own desk to start working on his homework. After pulling out his papers, he can hear Tony talking behind him.

"Steve, honey, can you check on Butterfingers and see what he's doing back there?" Tony asks. That's when Peter notices the noises from further away in the workshop. At the small bar, he can see movement from what seems like one of the bots, but what he's doing, he can't tell. 

"Okay, dear," Steve returns. He leans forward to kiss Tony on the cheek before standing up. Peter focuses on his homework, taking out his pen to start writing the answers down. But, after a few minutes already, he takes out his cellphone and pulls up the group chat to complain about being bored. Ned answers immediately, agreeing with that fact. 

"What's taking you so long, Steve?" Tony suddenly asks. Peter startles, being used to the silence that he hadn't noticed Steve hasn't said anything. 

"Well, uh... I was just thinking-" the Super Soldier starts, standing at the bar while looking at Butterfingers with his hand on his chin.

"Say no [more](https://mbishop1258.tumblr.com/post/168536220110/tony-whats-taking-you-so-long-steve-steve)," Tony responds, interrupting Steve where he was hesitating. Peter snorts at the respond, pulling up his journal and adding another stripe under Tony's name. So far, it's a tie. 

"You're an ass, you know that?" Steve mutters out. 

"A hot piece of ass, that is," Tony counters. Peter groans and drops his head on the desk. 

"You two are gross, okay," he complains. Tony just smirks at him. Steve has his hand in front of his eyes, shaking his head in defeat. 

 

* * *

 

 

It's another training excercise at the Compound. Everybody's wearing the same generic black uniform, no gadgets or weapons in sight. It's supposed to prepare them to work without their typical fancy tech Tony has prepared for them. 

They're divided in teams. In Peter's team there's Harry, Tony, Steve, Bruce, Sam, Wanda and Thor. The opposite team has Vision, Rhodey, Clint, Scott, Natasha, Brunnhilde (or Hilde, as everybody has gotten to call her) and Bucky. The simulation they're going for is mostly one that'll teach them in covert missions. Stealth and subtlety is their goal here. 

"Our team is going to be victorious," Thor announces proudly, pulling Bruce and Steve closer to him and throwing his arms over their shoulders. Peter yells in enthusiasm, agreeing with that fact. Harry, too, starts cheering. 

"Hell, no!" Clint counters. "In case you've forgotten, this team has  _three_ super-spies. If anybody is going to win, it's certainly not the team with the loudest thunder-god." 

Thor gasps, pretending like he's insulted. Hilde and Bruce roll their eyes as he starts up another explanation on how there's no way they could win from them. Nobody listens anymore, instead waiting for Tony to pull up the boxes and open them. 

"What's in those?" Harry asks curiously. He's a bit excited that he's allowed to join, but given the fact that he's recently single again and doesn't have any other way to keep himself busy, it was obvious that they would invite him along. Besides, Peter kind of begged for it, and Tony can hardly say no to his son.

"These are your weapons," Tony says, opening the box and throwing one of the things towards Harry, who catches it without any trouble. 

"I thought there wouldn't be any weapons?" Harry asks in return. 

"They aren't real guns. If you see someone, shoot at them. There won't be an actual shot, but if the lazer comes in contact with the suit it'll be counted along." Then Tony holds up his tablet. "In the end, we'll see who's been shot at the most during this  _stealth_ mission, but also who fired the most shots. Winning team is excluded from doing the dishes in the following week. The ultimate loser has to do the laundry for the entire month."

"That's easy for you to say, you don't even live here anymore," Clint counters bitterly. Tony smirks.

"What, you're afraid you're going to lose?" Tony baits him. Clint gasps, copying what Thor did earlier. Then he grabs one of the guns and nods towards his teammates.

"Grab a gun and we'll put together a strategy!" he says. The rest of his team nods and hurries to take a weapon. Natasha just rolls her eyes but follows anyway. That's when Tony turns towards his own teammates. He hands Peter his gun before quickly explaining to him how it works. 

"Alright, who-ever put the teams together really didn't think this through," Steve mutters, looking at the tablet and staring at the names. "I mean, they're right; they have three master-assassins." 

"What counts is that you don't get shot at," Tony returns. "Besides, we pulled the names out of a goblet. Fate put the teams together." 

Steve smiles and shakes his head. After everybody has gotten their weapons, Tony leans towards the table where he starts writing a few things down. Peter, Harry and Wanda hold up their hands, giving each other a high-five. Even if they're not going to win this, they'll still have fun at least. 

"Steve, stop staring at Tony's ass for a second. We need to get ready for the mission," Sam suddenly says. Everybody turns to look at Steve, whose face is now beet red, eyes blinking nervously. Tony, too, jumps up, turning around with a shocked face. He gasps.

"How dare he?" he starts, putting a hand towards his mouth to empathize his shock. "[Keep staring](https://avengers-having-fun.tumblr.com/post/164807394577/sam-steve-stop-staring-at-tonys-ass-for-a), you handsome idiot!" 

Everybody groans and rolls their eyes. Who ever thought it would be a good idea to have the teams chosen by name-pulling? 

 

* * *

 

 

There have been a few occasions in which Peter has been wondering what exactly he did to derserve this. Sure, his Dad loves him, and so does Steve, and he now has a whole family of Avengers out there that cares about him. But as it is, he can't help but wonder once or twice why he couldn't have just been normal? 

The perfect example is at the dinner table. May and Rhodey are there as well, giving each other quick smiles and awkward glances that make Peter want to roll his eyes. On the other side of the table, there's Natasha and Bucky, the two of them looking a bit out of place as they observe the happenings around them. 

He thinks he should be glad that Harry and Johnny are there with him as his mental support, but to be honest it's not that much of a comfort. It's probably even worse now, given that he now gets to be embarassed about his superhero-dads in front of an entire crowd. 

"I'm sure you've checked the news already?" Rhodey starts somewhere in the middle of their dinner. "Crowned favorite couple of the year, can't say it's really that much of a surprise, right?" Rhodey smirks at the couple seated next to Peter.

"Not really that surprised, given that we're just awesome," Tony says with a wide grin. Steve, too, smiles. 

"I guess we are," he agreed. "[Fist me](https://stankindustries.tumblr.com/post/164038860437/steve-fist-me-tony-i-what-the-fuck-steve)!"

Everybody stops their movement. Eyes are opened wide, mouth have dropped in surprise. Tony's fork falls out of his hand.

"I- what the fuck?" Tony stammers out. Then Steve holds out his fist towards Tony, expecting a fist bump. Everybody blinks, still surprised for what just happened. Understanding dawns in on everybody.

Tony is the last one to get it.

"Right, that's what you- right, okay, God, Jesus fucking Christ..."

Tony hesitantly bumps his fist against Steve's, and everybody starts to laugh at Steve's proud face. Peter is just about ready to run away from the table and pretend he's not family to any of these people.

 

* * *

 

 

There are a few occasions when Steve joins Peter on patrol. Peter would then just swing around, and Steve follows him with his bike. Sometimes there's nothing for them to do. Today they had the chance of stopping another burglary before they were joined by Johnny and Wade and they went out for ice cream. It was fun, some long-needed bonding time. 

But eventually it's time to head back home. Johnny and Wade don't even ask if they can join them back to Stark Tower; they simply follow them up to the penthouse. Peter shrugs off the suit, Wade loses the mask. Steve loosens the belts of his gear and puts his helmet on the table next to the door. 

"Honey, we're home!" he shouts into the penthouse. He and Peter head for the kitchenette to get some drinks ready for everybody while Wade and Johnny get to the couch, deep in discussion about a movie Peter hasn't watched yet. 

"Welcome back, I trust you kicked some ass out there?" Tony asks, suddenly appearing from the hall with his hair sticking out wildly and grease-stains over his shirt. When he gets to Steve and Peter, he kisses them both on the cheek before starting up the coffee machine. Steve reaches out immediately to pull the plug and stop him.

"No coffee before bed," he says sternly. Tony pouts.

"C'mon babe, you know it's my life fuel," Tony complains. Steve shakes his head. 

"If I can get you to sleep a full eight hours tonight, I think that would be a miracle," Steve returns. On the couch, suddenly a red arm shoots up in the air, the hand attached to it balled up into a fist. 

"Yeah, you tell him, Mr. Captain!" Wade calls out, going through the channels so fast that it annoys even Johnny. Peter just rolls his eyes, heading towards the couch to hand both Wade and Johnny their glass. When he gets back to the counter, he suddenly notices a yelllow post-it attached to the fridge.

"Hey, Dad, what's this?" Peter asks, recognizing Tony's handwriting immediately. He takes the post-it and holds it up towards his father, who gives it a short look. Steve then takes it from Peter to inspect it as well. 

"Oh, that's just my [to-do list](https://lelantusposts.tumblr.com/post/157735270420/steve-hey-tony-whats-this-tony-oh-thats)," Tony explains casually. He grabs an apple from the fruit-basket and takes a big bite out of it. Steve raises an eyebrow after that, and Peter, too, gives him his most unimpressed look.

"This is a post-it note with my name on it," Steve states after that. Tony grins again, wiggling his eyebrows with a playful smirk. Steve's face turns bright red again after that. Peter feels shivers go through his entire body.

"OKAY GUYS I SUGGEST WE HANG OUT AT YAEL'S WHAT DO YOU THINK?" Peter almost shouts out, literally pulling his friends out of the couch in an attempt to get away from these losers as quickly as he can. 

 

 

 

 

 


	6. A twitch in time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is what happens when you mess with the Eye of Agamotto

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this came out in between *cough* studying *cough*. I'm sorry if it feels a bit rushed, my mind is wandering off all the time, it's weird!  
> Anyway, after a request, here's the de-ageing part. It's not completely how I wanted it to be, but you can blame my distracted mind for that!   
> I hope you'll enjoy!

 

Tony has been complaining for the past ten minutes now. He knows he’s being annoying, but he had just been lying in bed so comfortably with his cuddle-pillow breathing slowly next to him as they were starting their interesting plans of the day. And then that annoying call came in, and said cuddle-pillow hurried back out of bed and got himself dressed again.

“Ste-heeve, we finally have the penthouse to ourselves and now you want to go?” he tries again, for maybe the fourth time already. Steve just rolls his eyes.

“I know, Tony, but if they call us up to be on the scene in _Paris_ , you know it’s urgent,” Steve retorts for the fourth time as well. Now dressed in his full uniform, he’s the exact opposite of Tony, who is standing there buck-naked.

“Can’t you just, I don’t know, take a rain-check on this one? Let someone else lead the team,” Tony tries. It doesn’t work with Steve, who just rolls his eyes.

“You just wait here, I’ll be home as soon as I can,” Steve counters. He puts his hand on Tony’s hips as he pulls him closer. “And then we can have lots and lots of hot and steamy sex, okay?”

Tony grumbles, but he doesn’t pull back when Steve kisses him on the lips.

“But I want hot and steamy sex now,” he complains. Steve rolls his eyes before kissing him on the lips once again. Then he heads towards the door. Tony grabs his underwear from the floor and picks up a t-shirt, only noticing too late that it’s Steve’s. Then he quickly hurries after him.

The quinjet is already on the landing platform on the balcony. Clint salutes Tony once he sees him, but the others are busy talking to each other. The moment Steve is close enough, he asks for a status update. Natasha is the first one to respond.

“Dr. Doom,” she says, starting to explain the situation to Steve. Tony doesn’t listen, instead standing there on the balcony with his arms crossed, knowing that he’s pouting. Clint sees this as an excellent opportunity to start annoying him.

“Oh, is little Tonyboo sad because his honeybunch has to leave without him?” he jokes. Sam and Barnes snort at that. Wanda, too, lets out a giggle.

“Shut up, Barton. When you’re robbed of an awesome day of awesome and endless sex you’ll react the exact same way,” Tony snaps back. Clint’s face pulls together in disgust. Barnes just lets out a sigh.

“I totally get you there, Stark,” the Soldier says. “The days I can even _convince_ Nat are rare already, so if one of those gets taken from me, I would be pretty pissed, too.”

“Exactly!” Tony says, pointing towards Barnes. But then he realizes their situations are not at all the same, given that, while Natasha pretty much _dislikes_ sex, Steve loves it quite a bit. “Uh, whatever. Just get him back home, soon!”

“Will do, Stark,” Sam says with a wink before nodding towards the Quinjet. “C’mon, the bosses want us in Paris in record time.”

And the Avengers hurry inside the Quinjet at last. Before the hatch closes, Steve blows Tony a kiss, but all Tony does is glare at him. He’s enjoying this; making Tony wait. The asshole. Tony waits until the q-Quinjet is out of sight before he turns back to get inside again. He decides to just get to the kitchenette and prepare a coffee. He could just watch some TV, or maybe try and finish his last invention, but with how riled up he is right now, he figures he might start breaking things without meaning to.

Sure, he has a better hang of his stronger powers now, but there are a few times where he loses control. And after putting all this work into the Starkaroid (he still needs to work on that name), he doesn’t want to start from scratch again.

“ _Sir, incoming call from Wade Wilson and Jonathan Storm,”_ FRIDAY suddenly says, interrupting Tony’s peace. He sighs, rubbing his forehead and wondering when this day will just end.

“Let them through,” he breathes out. The two brats never call him unless they need his help with something. Immediately, on his tablet, the familiar image of Deadpool and Johnny appear. The two look a bit… freaked out? Worry rises immediately inside of Tony.

“ _Hi, eh, Mr. Stark,”_ Johnny greets awkwardly. Unimpressed, Tony gives him a silent look while he waits for him to continue. “ _Uh, as you, uh, know, or maybe you don’t know because we haven’t told you, uh-“_

“For crying out loud, spit it out, Storm,” Tony interrupts him. Johnny chuckles nervously before turning to look at Wade next to him.

“ _To put it shortly, we kind of dared Peter to sneak into the New York Sanctorum,”_ Wade says calmly.

“And I suspect he refused because he’s a very responsible young man,” Tony states. The two boys chuckle again nervously.

“ _Uh, not exactly,”_ Johnny counters that. Tony rolls his eyes. Of course, boys will be boys and Peter is still a teenager, but Tony would have hoped he’d known better than to sneak into Strange’s place.

“What did he break and how much is it worth?” Tony then asks. He wonder show much money he’s already lost ever since Peter came into his life. The kid breaks things faster than anybody possibly could. If it’s not the gigantic amount of backpacks Tony needs to buy again and again, it’s the constant repairs he needs on his suit after messing something up again, or the fact that he’s lost his phone again, or his computer.

Suddenly, the screen starts shaking until the two boys have disappeared from view and suddenly Strange stands there on the other side.

“ _Stark, I suggest you come here very quickly. Don’t make me wait,”_ Strange says before hanging up. Tony groans again, about ready to give up on this entire day. All he had planned for today was sex and nothing more…

So Tony gets dressed. He puts on a simple band-shirt and a black jacket on top of that. Then he puts on some sunglasses and heads towards the garage, his hands in the pockets of his black jeans. Whatever Peter just managed to do, Tony’s not sure he won’t just give him house-arrest because of how annoyed he’s feeling.

Arriving at the Sanctum in record time, Tony doesn’t even need to knock on the door before it opens and a very annoyed Stephen Strange stands in front of him.

“Stark,” he greets him shortly. Tony pulls out his checkbook and pen.

“Listen, how much do I owe you? Better to get this over with immediately,” he sighs. But just as he’s about to write it down, the checkbook in his hands disappears and is replaced by a green pile of goo. Immediately, he drops it down on the ground with a small shriek.

“I don’t need your money, Stark,” Strange counters before walking inside. “Follow me.”

Tony eyes the goo on the ground, wondering where his checkbook went. Following Strange, he takes a good look at the building from the inside, having never been here before. It’s just like he would have imagined it being; full of nonsense.

“Can you at least tell me what he did?” Tony asks after entering another hallway that seems to lead to nowhere. Strange isn’t wearing his red cloak. In fact, he looks like he’s just dressed in lazy-clothing, as if he was planning his day to be less interesting, as well.

“Your boy found the eye of Agamotto,” Strange states. Tony gasps; Peter didn’t mess around with the infinity stone, did he?

“Did he do something with it?” Tony asks carefully. Strange glares at him without stopping his steps.

“See for yourself,” he says, coming to a halt in front of a door. Pointing his hand inside, Tony hesitantly follows in, hearing Johnny and Wade talk nervously. Is that- what’s that noise? Is that a baby crying?

Don’t say-

“Mr. Stark! We’re so sorry! We didn’t know this would happen!” Johnny says, clearly panicking, as he’s holding a tiny, naked baby in his hands. The baby is squirming, kicking its feet with his eyes squeezed shut. Crying, filling the room with its high-pitched shriek that makes Tony wonder if that’s why his father didn’t really like him in the workshop.

“Don’t tell me that’s Peter,” Tony mutters out, pointing towards the baby in Johnny’s arms. It looks about eight months old, maybe. The moment the kid’s big brown eyes fall on Tony, he stops crying.

“DA!” the kid shouts out, holding his arms towards Tony in an attempt to escape from Johnny’s grasp. The teenager seems to struggle with holding him like that. Without asking him anything, Johnny brings the kid closer to Tony until his little arms are wrapped around Tony’s neck.

“I’m afraid he is,” Johnny says apologetic. Tony looks down at the small child, their eyes meeting and not letting go. Then little Peter puts his hands on Tony’s cheeks, and starts giggling.

This is absolutely not how Tony wanted his day to be.

 

* * *

 

 

It’s temporal. At least that’s what Strange could give him. How long it’ll take, he couldn’t say. It could be a day, it could be a week. At least not more than that, so that’s something he’s got going for himself.

Finding himself back in the tower with a hyperactive kid crawling around in the penthouse, Tony finds himself staring at his now eight-month-old-son along with Bruce, who seems interested in it all, too. It’s lucky, really, that he didn’t join in on the mission to Paris.

“What I would give for Steve to be here right now,” Tony mutters. Bruce shrugs.

“Eh, for all we know he could be terrible with children,” he says with a shrug. Now that’s something Tony can’t really imagine.

“The problem is; is it worth it to start babyproofing the apartment? He might just change back tomorrow,” Tony wonders, looking at Peter chasing from one corner to the other until he gets to the wall. Then, when he starts climbing up, Tony hurries into action to pry him off again.

“No, no, no Spider-Man while you’re a baby, Peter,” Tony tells him, holding the small child in his arms. Peter gives him a confused look, holding his hand back to the wall. Tony shakes his head. “I said no.”

Peter pulls his hands back, pushing his fingers into his mouth and sucking on his fingers. Tony blinks when his son starts drooling all over his arms.

“I’m getting _this_ close to just calling May,” Tony mutters, but at the same time he’s afraid of what May will say about this. The chances are too big that Peter might crawl on another wall in her presence. They can explain the de-ageing even more easily than the fact that her nephew has been Spider-Man for the past two years.

“You could babyproof it anyway, and then keep the stuff? In case anybody you know ever gets a baby you can give them away as presents or something,” Bruce offers. Tony turns back to him, giving him a wide smirk.

“You are a genius!” Tony says. He hurries back to the scientist, puts a hand behind his head and kisses him on the forehead. Bruce, of course, pulls away.

“Hey, stop that!” he complains. Tony winks at him before looking back up.

“FRI, can you get the essentials for baby-proofing the place? And maybe get some clothes so he doesn’t have to walk around in one of Storm’s t-shirts? I feel like he might drown in it.”

_“Of course, sir. Would you like the special ‘Avengers’ edition added to the collection as well?”_

Tony looks at Peter, suddenly feeling a smirk building up on his lips.

“Hell yeah,” he says, pulling Peter closer to him and kissing him on the cheek. The baby giggles happily before pulling a wet hand out of his mouth and pressing it against Tony’s face. Great, now there’s drool all over him.

 

* * *

 

 

“You bought a crib?”

Tony looks up from the couch, seeing Pepper standing in the living room, standing right next to the little bed he assembled only an hour ago. Peter’s already in it, fast asleep after crawling around the Penthouse all day.

“Of course, he can’t exactly sleep in his crib now, can he?” Then he turns towards the kitchenette to see Bruce, still busy. “Any luck on the formula?”

“It’s harder than it looks, really,” Bruce mutters. Pepper rolls her eyes, walking towards the counter and gently pushing Bruce aside.

“You men can’t do anything right,” she says with a sigh. Tony knows she’s aware of what to do, given that her cousin recently had a child. Back when they were still together, they went to visit the little brat, and since then Pepper has been babysitting once of twice. “How are you going to explain this to May?”

“Apparently, Johnny and Wade are taking care of that part,” Tony says, though not exactly sounding confident about that. Pepper nods, throwing away what Bruce made and beginning from scratch.

“That’ll surely end up well,” Pepper mutters. Tony agrees with that. He gets up from the couch to check on his suddenly-infant son. Peter’s drooling once again, eyes closed, and small hands balled into tiny fists. Tony can’t help but reach out a finger towards him, feeling Peter’s reflexes come up the moment he presses into the middle of his handpalm. He can’t help but grin.

“You are an adorable child, and you’re never going to live that one down the moment you’re back to normal,” he says fondly, aware that he’s using the typical talking-to-baby-voice. Peter twitches a bit in his sleep, but after a deep breath he sleeps on.

“Anybody already called Steve about this?” Pepper then asks. Bruce, who is already standing at the coffee machine to prepare some more, shakes his head.

“No, we couldn’t get in touch with anybody. But we’re not worried, the news has a live-feed of what’s happening back there.” He points towards the television where the news is indeed playing. Tony lets out a cheer when Steve appears on the screen, decapitating a Doombot with his shield, hair wild and bits of metal stuck in his beard. Tony really likes the beard, but Steve _has_ been thinking about shaving it off. Whatever he chooses, he’ll always be hot in Tony’s eyes.

“ _Incoming call from James Rhodes,”_ FRIDAY suddenly says. Peter startles from the sudden noise and starts whimpering in the crib. Tony groans, rolling his eyes as he gets back to his boy and picks him back up.

“Get him through, and please lower the volume next time, Fri,” Tony mutters.

“ _Apologies, sir. I am afraid I am not accustomed to infants in the premises,”_ FRIDAY explains. Tony sighs, putting his hand behind Peter’s head while he rocks him up and down.

“ _I just heard from May, who heard it from two of Peter’s friends, that you gave us a trip to Prague for two days? What’s going on, Tony?”_

Typical Rhodey, no greeting, just getting into business immediately.

“I got you a citytrip to Prague?” Tony asks in confusion, suddenly thinking back to Johnny and Wade who told him they were going to take care of it. “Fucking brats…”

“ _Tony? What’s going on? Why are you holding a baby in a Captain America onesie? Did Pepper bring her nephew to visit?”_

Tony sighs again. “No, this little one here is the reason we need May distracted for a moment.”

“ _Don’t tell me that’s Peter.”_

“Do you want me to lie, or to tell me the truth?” Tony jokes. Rhodey just groans, rolling his eyes while looking away. Then after a long moment of silence, he turns back to the screen while holding up a finger.

“ _You know what, the less I know, the better. When are we leaving?”_

“FRI, when’s the nearest flight to Prague?” Tony asks towards the ceiling.

“ _In one and half hour, sir,”_ FRIDAY says. “ _Do you want me to order the tickets and send them to Colonel Rhodes?”_

 _“_ Fine, whatever, make sure she’s having fun.”

“ _I’m picking up your credit card,”_ Rhodey says.

“You what?!”

“ _If you’re going to use me as a way to distract your son’s Aunt, it’s the least you can give me,”_ Rhodey explains. Tony rolls his eyes again.

“Fine, whatever, just keep her busy.”

Rhodey arrives exactly twenty minutes later. A few hours later, they leave a message to say that they’ve landed safely.

 

* * *

 

 

The first morning gives Tony the scare of his life. When he heads towards Peter’s room to get his son out of the crib, he only finds that Peter’s no longer in there.

Tony looks everywhere; under the bed, in the closet, in the bathroom. It’s only when he gets a bit of drool into his hair that he notices his son is hanging above his head.

So after almost an hour of getting the kid to come back down with Bruce’s help, Tony feels about ready to get back to sleep. It helps a lot that Peter is such a well-behaved kid, really. Other than constantly wanting to climb the walls, he listens quite well to what Tony or Bruce tell him.

They play games, watch some awful movies for children, and even go and take a walk in the park when FRIDAY suggests it might be good for Peter to get some fresh air. Today, Peter is wearing his newest Spider-Man onesie.

In the evening, Tony is exhausted. He lies down on the couch, with a movie playing in the background, while Peter lies next to him. The two fall fast asleep in no time, and Tony only wakes up an hour later, where he then decides to move his kid back into his bed.

Tony finds that he could get used to this, to taking care of a kid. He’s sure he won’t be the _best_ dad in the world, but he figures he would be alright. Maybe he should talk to Steve about this, figure out what his vision on it is.

Steve sends him a text, letting him know he’ll be back in two hours. Tony takes a deep breath. Two hours, he can wait that long. He sends a message to Bruce, asking if he could take Peter for the night. He doesn’t explain why, but Bruce is smart enough to figure it out himself.

“Of course, Tony,” Bruce responds to his request. “Let’s bring his stuff to my floor, shall we?”

And so they move Peter’s stuff down. Peter sleeps through the whole process, and before Tony leaves he offers his son a kiss on the forehead. He knows he’s safe with Bruce; even if Bruce were to _hulk_ out, the Hulk has a special adoration towards Peter for some strange reason. They don’t question it, only knowing that even the Hulk would do anything to keep Peter safe.

Tony goes to freshen up. He dims the light, makes the bed, takes a warm shower. And just about ten minutes before Steve should arrive, Tony throws himself underneath the covers, completely naked. Ready to give Steve the welcome of his life, he waits.

He falls asleep before Steve even arrives. Meanwhile, downstairs, Peter Parker suddenly opens his eyes, suddenly finding himself cramped up in a way-too-small outfit _and_ in a crib he doesn’t remember entering.

“ _Welcome back, Peter,”_ FRIDAY says. “ _Mr. Stark asked me to tell you that you’re grounded for an entire week.”_

“What the shit?”

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In case people wanted interaction between Steve and baby!Peter, I have my reasons for not letting that happen. You'll see why, soon enough! ^^


	7. About the accords

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ross didn't only go to see the Avengers in regards to the accords.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There will be two versions of this thing; this one will be with the fantastic four. The second one will feature the X-Men, though it will appear later.  
> I felt like it was needed to portray that the accords didn't only involve the Avengers. New York is full of heroes after all.

Its around four in the afternoon that he arrives. He called in advance, asking Reed to tell everybody to be here. But it meant that Johnny had to cancel his ‘date’ with that girl he met in the bar. Of course, everybody knows how that _date_ would have ended in the end.

Really, it’s a wonder there aren’t any little Storms wandering around already.

Susan is sitting next to Reed. Despite her husband being distracted with whatever is shown on the screen of their laptop, their hands are still holding. Reed has just always been one to keep his eyes behind a screen. At first Sue minded, but after a while she learned to work with it. Now, she has her way to distract the man.

Ben is already seated on the chair in front of Reed. He’s looking into a file, but he doesn’t really seem to pay too much attention to it. The seat in front of Sue is still empty. They’re waiting on Johnny. The secretary of State, former General Ross, is talking with one of his colleagues. The guy he brought along, is holding a suitcase and handing Ross a remote.

“I’m sorry, Mr. Ross, will this take long?” Sue asks, a little concerned about her dinner plans with Reed. They have reservations, but they’ve cancelled so often lately due to sudden missions and the owners don’t really seem to like them that much anymore.

“That will depend on all of you,” Ross says. Sue nods, discontent with the answer. She won’t complain, though. Instead, she knocks Reed on the head in search for his attention.

“Yes, honey?” the inventor asks without looking away. Sue rolls her eyes.

“Put the tablet down now, Johnny’s almost here,” she tells him. Reed frowns.

“How do you know?” he asks in confusion.

“Because I know my brother,” she says. The secret is that she only just received a text from him, saying ‘be there in ten’. Reed doesn’t need to know that, of course. The fact that they got the eighteen-year-old to agree to be here at all is enough of a wonder as it is. Sue sighs a bit, wondering what could possibly be _so_ important that the Secretary of State would want all of them to be here.

When Reed doesn’t put the tablet away after all, Sue sighs and focuses on the device in his hand. With just a blink of an eye, it seemingly disappears from his hands.

“Alright, alright, I’ll put it down,” Reed says, making a gesture of surrender as he puts the thing down at last. Sue grins at winning once again. She leans to the side, putting her head on Reed’s shoulder and taking a bit of comfort close to him. A quick look at her finger, she once again catches a glimpse of her engagement ring. The wedding is supposed to be in a few weeks, and it’s mostly going to be a private matter. On Sue’s insistence, they’ve invited a few members of the Avengers, and normally everybody will be there.

“I’m here!” Johnny shouts mid-run. He’s out of breath, his blonde hair wild and his eyes searching for an empty seat. Finding a chair next to Ben, he hurries into it, giving Ben a playful grin before winking at Mr. Ross.

“At last,” Ross returns, though not sounding so surprised about it. “We can begin, now.”

Johnny nods, and so do Sue and Reed. Ben just grunts. What a group, they are. A bunch of scientists who went up in space for research and a teenager that snuck in on the space craft because he didn’t want his sister to go without him. Ben is Reed’s best friend. Sue is Reed’s fiancé. Johnny is Sue’s brother. That doesn’t seem enough, most of the time. Whenever they’re _not_ fighting off another intergalactic threat to human kind, they’re mostly just fighting each other.

Seeing Johnny there, trying to look like he’s got everything under control. It breaks Sue’s heart a little. Because Johnny doesn’t have his life in his hands. He stays at Sue’s and Reeds, he doesn’t go to college. He doesn’t even have a job. There’s so many possibilities for him, and he just throws everything away because he wants to be a ‘hero’.

And sure, he _is_ a hero, but… Sue can’t explain why, but sometimes she thinks Johnny is just lonely.

“There are some matters that I want to address to each of you,” Ross starts, taking his remote and starting up his speech. Nobody speaks, instead listening to the man. Once or twice, Sue has to kick Johnny in the leg whenever his attention starts to waver, but other than that there’s no trouble. And Ross speaks, about their accomplishments in the world, the way the people view them, what they’re called. Reed and Johnny smile proudly. Sue can only feel there’s something coming soon.

So he brings up pictures. Images from New York when Victor went after them. From the London Eye, Shanghai when they teamed up with the Silver Surfer to chase away Galactus. Other battles with Doom, and so on and on. All the destruction they’ve left in their wake; the things they’ve helped rebuilt afterwards.

And after that, Ross takes out a thick book. Dropping it on the table, Ben is the first one who gets a look at it. With his large hands, he tries to go through it, but eventually he gives it up, shoving it towards Reed.

The Sokovia Accords. That’s how he calls it. A whole new ‘rulebook’ that would manage every enhanced individual that wants to use their powers for good. Reed goes through the book with full interest. Johnny just glares at it, and Sue, too, doesn’t feel particularly fond of it.

“I’m sorry, am I hearing this right? If we don’t sign this, we can say goodbye to the Fantastic Four?” Johnny asks after Ross finally finishes. Sue is tired of waiting, pulling the book out of Reed’s hands and giving it a light read.

“ _All collaboration teams with enhanced indivisuals will no longer be a private organization and will operate under the supervision of the United Nations. Any enhanced individuals who agree to sign mmust register with the United Nations and provide biometric data such as fingerprints and DNA samples…”_

It goes on and on, explaining that they’ll need to have their powers analyzed to categorize their threat level. They can’t cross international boundaries at any time they wish, they need clearance. Every bit counters what Sue is feeling on the matter. It had taken her a while to accept the role she has in this world, but now they’re throwing it all overboard once again, making it something completely worse.

“If you don’t sign, you retire,” Ross returns. Johnny laughs bitterly at that. The room starts to heat up a bit, meaning that he’s angry.

“You can’t be serious? You know nobody will sign this shit, right?” he counters. Ross raises his eyebrow at him, clearly unimpressed by his language.

“Actually, many already have,” Ross clarifies. Sue’s mouth falls open. Can anybody actually _agree_ with this stuff? “So far, Iron Man, War Machine, Black Widow and Vision have signed, along with many foreign heroes.”

“Any of the X-Men?” Ben asks. Ross shakes his head.

“They’re next on my tour,” he admits. “Though if anybody knows how I can reach the individuals like Daredevil or Spider-Man, that would be appreciated.”

“No way.” Johnny is slumping in his seat, clearly unhappy with the sudden turn of events. “Is this because of the crap that happened in Lagos? I mean, it’s bad, of course, but it’s not our fault!”

“Lagos was one of the many reasons the United Nations have decided to come together for this. After all, Lagos happened only a few days ago, in which time these accords could not have been written.”

Ross gives them the time to decide after that, telling them he’ll be back tomorrow to get their definite answer. The Four remain the moment he’s out of the room. Sue sighs, shaking her head while shoving the book away.

“We can’t sign this,” she says shortly. It’s simple as that; they can’t give them this kind of ultimatum; that’s not right at all.

“I agree,” Johnny says. “They just want to put us on a leash.”

Reed reaches for the book again, his eyes reading through the pages once more while he pulls up his pensive face. Ben just… stares for a bit.

“I don’t know, Suzie. They do kind of have a point, you know. Where-ever we go, there’s lots of destruction afterwards that _can’t_ always be cleaned up.” Ben gets off from his seat and starts pacing into the room.

“You must be joking, right?” Johnny asks.

“No, firecracker, actually I’m not,” Ben counters. “We fly and go where-ever we want, trying to make things better but sometimes making things worse. Maybe we _need_ somebody who can tell us where to go and where to stay away from.”

“I agree with Ben,” Reed finally speaks up. “Besides, signing means we can keep on going. If we don’t, we’re not allowed to do anything anymore, Johnny.”

“That’s precisely the reason why we can’t do this. And why the others shouldn’t have signed. Because if nobody agrees to this, they won’t be able to go through with this.”

“I don’t think it’s that easy, Johnny,” Reed starts, but Johnny shakes his head before standing up as well.

“This is bullshit, and I’m not dealing with this. I’m out of here.”

After that, Johnny is out of the room. Sue gives Reed a stern look before hurrying after her brother. He might be the youngest of them all, but he’s the only one who seems to agree with her.

The next day, Reed and Ben give the news that they’re willing to sign. Johnny and Sue aren’t there, which should be indication enough. The Fantastic Four are out of duty as from that day. 


	8. Something about MJ

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry and MJ have something to say.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Inevitable, but because I wasn't intending on making a sequel at first, I had this one all planned out. Let's say this one is the beginning of Peter's feelings for MJ, and that the sequel will build upon this when it comes to the matter of the two together.

 

There’s a knock on Peter’s door that wakes him up. For a moment, he thinks it’s just a part of his dream, and that there’s nobody out there. It’s proven wrong when Harry’s voice sounds on the other side of the room.

“Petey! Can you let me in for a sec?”

Peter frowns, for a moment wondering how late it is. When he looks at the clock, he sees that it’s one in the morning. How did Harry even get in?

Sitting on the side of his bed, Peter starts rubbing his eyes.

“The door is open, come on in,” he calls out. Barely any second later the door opens and Harry enters the room with no explanation at all. Peter looks at his friend, seeing him appear a bit… agitated? Is that possible?

“Steve let me in, he just came back home when I arrived,” Harry explains before Peter can ask. Then he throws himself on the bed and goes to lie down on his back, eyes looking at the ceiling. Peter clears his throat as he inspects his friend.

“What happened?” he asks curiously. Harry snorts and shakes his head. He puts his hands on his stomach, making it go up and down as he breathes.

“MJ dumped me,” he says all of the sudden, surprising Peter once again.

“What? Why?”

“She didn’t say, but I kinda saw it coming, I guess?” Harry sighs, turning his head to the side to look at Peter. “I mean, I’m not mad at her, it wasn’t working for a while, anyway, but still…”

Peter hadn’t even noticed that. Sure, MJ and Harry were a… _weird_ couple to say the least, but somehow they worked good together. MJ opened up more, becoming a more and more pleasant person to hang around with and actually involving her friends into her social justice-activities. And Harry, in turn, changed as well; being more humble and less obvious about how rich he is… It’s a bit of a shame, really.

But, why is Peter feeling so strange, all of the sudden? Almost like… he’s excited or something?

“You have any suspicions as to why she would break up all of the sudden?” Peter tries, ignoring this feeling inside of him. Harry sighs dramatically.

“I don’t know, I think there’s somebody else? I mean, I’ve seen her looking, caught her staring sometimes. I guess she never really got over him and got tired of trying.” Harry then shrugs, being vague about something.

“Who do you mean?” he asks. If Harry caught her staring, that means he knows who the other guy might be, right? To be fair, Peter never really noticed her doing that, but it’s not like he tries to pay attention to her all the time. That would be weird, after all.

“Eh, it doesn’t matter. You’ll figure it out eventually,” he admits. Then he gives Peter a light smile, making clear that he’s not exactly _sad_ about what happened.

“You look chipper?” he tries. Harry nods.

“I mean, yeah! It was great being with her but now I’m reminded of how much I’ve missed being single and free again.” Harry lets out a laugh. “And the great thing; I don’t think it’ll be awkward being around her! We’re still friends. Proves how much in love we were, right?”

“Right,” Peter mutters, feeling really weird about this all. Harry _does_ seem happier than before. His eyes are closed, and his lips are curled up into a small smile. He looks content. “So, uh, you’re staying over?”

“I can? I don’t mean to intrude,” Harry admits. Peter shakes his head.

“Nah, man, the bed is big enough for the two of us. Besides, we’ve had plenty of sleepovers when we were kids, after all!”

Harry still looks a bit hesitant before nodding. He jumps back up to get an extra set of sleeping clothes, already knowing where they are. Peter wonders if he should be concerned about that, but figures it’s only normal he would keep them in one of the drawers. Maybe Harry was just lucky?

“FRI, will you warn Steve and Tony if I unknowingly try to kill Peter in his sleep?” Harry tries the moment he’s changed. Peter looks up in alarm. Does Harry remember? Peter never told him about it all?

“ _Of course, master Osborn,”_ FRIDAY returns.

Once he sees his panicked look, he shrugs. “Yeah, I remember. You could have told me about it, by the way.”

“I didn’t-“ know how to approach it. That’s the problem about it all, right?

“There’s many disturbing things that have happened that I know of. And I’m sorry for all of it.”

Peter nods at him, shrugging lightly.

“It’s okay, it wasn’t you,” he assures him.

“But it was, wasn’t it?” Harry sighs the moment he’s lying down. The two of them looking at the ceiling in the sudden silence between them. “I’m sorry… about Gwen.”

“Don’t-“ Peter starts, but his words catch in his mouth. “Don’t say sorry. The Goblin did that. Not you.”

Harry turns towards Peter, leaning his head on his shoulder as he looks at him. “I know but… they were still my hands. Just like impaling you during that one fight. The doctors told me you needed surgery after that?”

Peter shrugs, pulling up his shirt and revealing the small scar he still has because of it. The one on his back is bigger than this one, since this was the exit wound.

“It’s barely anything, you see?” he points out. “Besides, if that hadn’t happened, I’m sure I would be calling Tony Mr. Stark, still.”

The two laugh shortly. Peter lowers his shirt again before pulling the covers over them.

“If you’re no longer with MJ, who are you going to ask for senior prom?” Peter then asks. Harry hums in thought.

“I don’t know, maybe Lily or something. She’s kind of cute,” he jokes. Peter gives him an unimpressed look.

“She’s also cheerleader captain. You really think she’ll say yes?” Peter gets out. Harry shrugs.

“Who knows, I can only try, right?”

“Right.”

“Goodnight, then.”

“Goodnight, Harry. Don’t let the bed-bugs bite.”

“Ha-ha, very funny, asshole.”

 

* * *

 

 

It’s a truly uneventful day in New York, Peter quickly comes to realize.

He’d been planning on patrolling with Johnny, but eventually his friend had to bail for some international crisis, leaving the country with his teammates. Peter tries not to be too jealous about that.

There’s no robberies, no muggings on the street. The most Peter could do was pulling a puppy from the streets right when it was about to be run over by a truck. After handing the puppy back to the woman it belongs to, he once again gets a few dollar bills pushed into his hands.

“I can’t take this, ma’am,” Peter tries to convince the woman. She wouldn’t have any of it.

“Take it, my child. I insist.”

After that, she’s off into another street, and Peter is left standing there with money in his hands, again. Letting out a long sigh, he decides on where he should be going next. So he jumps up, swinging his way down a few streets until he gets to the bridge.

“Spider-Man!” somebody shouts. They’re not even surprised to see him there, anymore. Every time Peter appears, he’s there with money to give.

It’s a kid about Peter’s age that comes up to him this time. He smiles, extremely happy by his visit.

“Hey, pal,” he greets the skinny boy.

“You really are a blessing, Spider-Man,” the woman behind the kid says, taking Peter’s hands into her own and shaking them gratefully. Peter only bows his head towards her.

“You need it more than I do,” he says. “Say, what smells so great here?”

The kid points to somewhere behind him, where a group of homeless people are standing in line for something. “That girl is here again to hand out soup. It’s welcome, too, because it’s rather cold today.”

Peter tries to focus on the person standing there, but he can’t see who it is. “Yeah, I bet. Should I go and say hi?”

“Sure, come on!” The kid pulls Peter along towards the line. He gets a lot more cheers once the others see him as well. He’s pretty loved in here, and he wishes he could do more to help them. He needs to talk to Tony about it one day.

“Well, well, who do we have here?” a familiar voice asks all of the sudden. Peter looks up, finding MJ standing behind a large bowl, serving soup to the people. Her hair is put up messily, and her cheeks are reddened. She looks good, he thinks.

“Hi there! I never really caught your name?” he lies.

“It’s MJ,” she says with a wink, handing another bowl to an elder woman. “Careful, it’s hot.”

“Bless you, young lady. Bless you.”

“Just trying to help, ma’am,” she assures her. The woman bows her head and moves on with slow steps. “Say, you mind helping out? We could serve a bit faster that way.”

Peter nods, taking place behind the table, next to MJ. For somebody who just broke up with her boyfriend, she doesn’t seem all that conflicted at all. Maybe Harry was right and they’re both happy to be free again.

They don’t speak as they serve. At least, to each other, that is. Some people passing by even take a picture of them helping the people out, and Peter doesn’t even mind the sudden attention. Maybe it could bring up some awareness for the homeless in New York.

MJ was right, and they finish about ten minutes after Peter joined in helping. After that, MJ fills up a bowl for themselves, handing one to Peter with a playful smirk.

“I’m mostly curious to see how you’ll drink it,” she jokes. Peter rolls his eyes, though she can’t exactly see that.

“Easy enough, I just lift it up right under my nose,” he says showing to her how he pulls up the mask slightly. MJ lets out a laugh at the funny sight of it. Peter sticks out his tongue, pressing the bowl against his lips to shield away the lower side of his face. MJ is perceptive enough after all.

They go sit a bit further away, looking over the group of people that are all sitting together, happily talking. It fills Peter with warmth, to see that such a small act of kindness can lift up their spirits like this. It’s incredible, really.

“So, what brings you here?” MJ suddenly asks, pulling Peter out of his train of thoughts. Peter turns to her, catching her watching him over her bowl of soup.

“A lady gave me money again. I always bring it here whenever that happens,” he admits. “They can use it a lot more than I can.”

MJ smiles when she hears it. She lowers the bowl and lets out a sigh.

“These people… I wish I could do more, you know. I’ve been trying to bring awareness about it, but nobody really listens to it.”

Peter nods, agreeing with that fact. He’d been there during the protest, after all. She dragged the whole decathlon team along! It had been cold, snowing, and even Peter, who was wearing his suit underneath, was shivering from it.

And they spoke their minds, and nobody listened.

“I know,” he sighs unhappily. MJ then turns towards him, her dark eyes boring into where she thinks his are. She inspects him thoroughly, suddenly reaching out a hand towards his chin. Without a warning, she pulls a strand of spaghetti away.

“You had something-“ she starts, nodding towards Peter who quickly wipes at his chin to dry off.

“Yeah, uh, thanks,” he says, a bit embarrassed. What’s he doing here? This girl only just dumped Harry _one_ day ago, and while he assured him that he’s okay with it, Peter can’t just… hang out with MJ and pretend everything’s fine, right?

They break their eye-contact. MJ sighs, turning her gaze back to the people in front of them. Peter, too, looks away.

“What’s, uh… what’s wrong?” he asks. MJ shrugs.

“I kinda just broke up with my boyfriend,” she admits. “But it’s okay, we’re still friends.”

“Oh, that’s too bad. What happened?” Maybe she’ll tell him what Harry didn’t want to say. MJ shrugs again.  

“I might have had feelings for somebody else? I don’t really know, it might be shitty of me, but I thought that being with Harry might make me forget about the guy.”

“Don’t say it’s that ex-boyfriend of yours?” Peter asks, remembering the confrontation they’ve had in that alley where that guy didn’t want to leave her alone. MJ laughs at that.

“No, no, I haven’t seen or spoken to Tristan after that one confrontation,” she assures him with a wink. “I guess… I never wanted to admit it, but I might have had feelings for Harry’s best friend for a while. I was just too proud – or scared, I don’t know – to admit it.”

Peter almost chokes on his soup. _Harry’s best friend?_ _BUT THAT’S ME?_ He tries to keep calm, not to let it show, but she seems to realize that there’s something wrong. She frowns at him, about ready to open her mouth and ask.

“That’s, uh, how long did you, you know, have, you know, feelings for the, you know, friend?”

Oh, this is going horribly. MJ squints her eyes together for a bit, cheeks still reddened though that could be because of the cold.

“A few months, I suppose. I always kind of acted like a dick towards him, pretended I couldn’t stand him. I suppose it worked well enough,” she laughs uncertainly. Then she turns back towards Peter. “Of course, you have no idea who I’m talking about, do you?”

Peter quickly shakes his head, nervously. “No, of course not!”

MJ snorts again before standing up with her empty bowl. “I suppose I should get moving. I still have some homework to do. I’ll see you another time, perhaps?”

Peter nods, giving her a smile now that she can actually see it. After that, he gets up as well, pulling his mask back down.

“Stay safe, and good luck with that guy,” he jokes, though he’s only wishing himself luck with that. MJ winks at him.

“Will do.”

The two go their separate ways again after that. And when Peter finds himself blushing every time he sees MJ the next day, nobody needs to know why.


	9. (In)correct quotes, part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things that makes Peter wish he would only have a normal family.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry! I've been gone a little while due to the exams. My first one was today, and though it absorbed every bit of free time I had left, it still didn't go well. So, as a get better, I made another part of the incorrect quotes since that kind of brightens my day a bit!   
> Enjoy

It’s the week of the finals. Despite everything that happened, and most of the school being crushed into debris and broken pieces, even Midtown High seems to have agreed on the fact that they should just keep the tests on their schedule. Peter hates it.

Not only because he’s still feeling hyper from the whole Thanos-ordeal. He’s mostly anxious because he needs to get out of the house, to get some time away from his now two overprotective dads who won’t even let him out as Spider-Man for two hours straight. It’s driving him crazy, to say the least!

But Peter manages. Despite the constant urge to just jump up and crawling up the walls, he stays put at his desk in his room, his computer purposely turned off while he studies as much as he can. Not that he needs it, but it keeps him busy. After all, it’s not like he can just hang out with Ned and Harry at the moment, since they’re both actually in need of studying.

Peter taps his pencil on the paper, looking at the formulas and wondering why people would think this hard. Chemistry is like a second language to him, it’s hard _not_ to get it! He draws a spider in the corner of his paper, quickly wondering if he can’t just get into his suit and sneak out of the house. The problem with Steve and Tony knowing that he’s Spider-Man is that, the moment he’s outside, they’ll know.

They’re fighting again. It’s not as bad as during their break, usually about stupid things. Tony’s mostly frustrated that he’s not really and Avenger anymore – his decision, though he doesn’t particularly like it, either. Steve, on the other hand, still has to deal with Tony Stark, the inventor who has irregular sleeping patterns and is about the very definition of impulsiveness. If Tony would even go to sleep, it’s a miracle. Even more so if he would _stay_ in bed rather than just jump out the moment an idea comes to his head and he storms back down to the workshop. As far as Peter knows, Steve is tired of waking up alone.

Peter sighs when he hears their voices through the door. He can’t exactly hear what they’re saying, they’re in their bedroom so the sound is muffled. But from what he can hear, Tony doesn’t really seem to appreciate the accusations he’s getting about not taking care of himself. Peter pulls up his phone and looks at who’s online. He just needs a person to stalk for a moment, wondering why he can’t just get out and swing around for a bit. A quick look outside, and he finds a New York that, despite everything, is still standing. The fact that the tower survived is a miracle on its own, though a few floors have been declared uninhabitable until renovations are ready.

Johnny’s not online, neither are Ned, Yaël and Harry. Wanda doesn’t have the app, and Peter’s not about to message Wade about how bored he is. With his luck, the idiot might actually appear at his window, trying to get in his pants again.

Suddenly, the door opens and Peter looks behind him, seeing Bruce walk in with eyes open wide. Peter shrugs at him, giving him his ‘what can you do about it?’-look.

“Looks like they’re back in action,” the scientist comments. Peter nods, dropping his phone and pencil. Now that the door is open, the argument is a bit clearer, though Peter tries not to listen to it.

“It’s okay, after what they’ve been through, they won’t let something silly like this break them apart,” he says, waving it off. He has no doubts that later, would he ever get married, he’ll get in arguments like these as well. Besides, the subjects aren’t _that_ severe. Sometimes it’s about Tony not putting away his laundry, or Steve forgetting about date-night because he spent too much time in the gym. There’s always these little things that’ll annoy the hell out of each other. But next to that, there are also times where Peter’s sure that the two men are quite happy with each other.

“Oh, I don’t doubt that,” Bruce jokes. “I was thinking, since you’re having chemistry tomorrow, maybe you want to hang out in the lab? Experiment a bit? I’m sure Tony won’t mind.”

Peter almost literally jumps up out of his seat. Sure, his dad might have become the chief of the ‘protect-Peter-squad’, but he would allow at least this, right? Excited, Peter nods, grabbing his books and dropping them in his bag.

“Thank you, Bruce! This is really amazing!” Peter says happily. They’re about to get out of Peter’s bedroom when another door suddenly flies open.

“You know what?! I’m so done with your shit. We’re getting divorced!” Tony snaps, bursting through the door opening and storming into the hallway. He doesn’t even look at Bruce and Peter as he passes them by. Peter blinks a few times, surprised at what just happened.

“Tony, we’re not even marri-“ Steve starks, clearly tired of arguing about it. He, too, comes to stand in the hallway, though he’s staying close to the door, his hand above his eye in exasperation and shaking his head.

“[DIVORCED](https://uncooldotcom.tumblr.com/post/166111357865/tony-im-so-done-with-your-shit-were-getting)!” Tony shouts again. Steve rolls his eyes, looking up and suddenly noticing Bruce and Peter standing there with their eyebrows raised. A bit of color comes up on Steve’s cheeks, and he chuckles hesitantly.

“Uh, I’m, uh…” he starts, but even as he fidgets his fingers together, nothing comes out. Peter gives him an unimpressed look, crossing his arms. He’s not angry, but he would still like to pass along the message that they’re making a lot of noise.

Steve clears his throat.

“He made my phone explode with his stupid upgrades!” he then defends himself, getting back into his room and shutting the door again. Peter turns to Bruce, who rolls his eyes but smiles affectionately. Then he bumps at Peter and nods back into the hallway.

“Come, let’s let the lovebirds make peace on their own,” he says. Peter couldn’t be happier for the release of this ever-lasting… well, not _hell_ , but it’s kind of a bit of torture, too.

  

* * *

 

 

Despite being probably one-fiftieth Super-Soldier, there’s a lot of things that remind Peter that his dad is still not invincible, even when he wants to believe it himself. After a whole week at May’s, Peter drops his bag again in the living room of the penthouse, seeing Rhodey and Barnes sitting there like nothing much is happening in the world. Peter gives them a wave, they salute him back, though they’re both winking.

That can’t be good.

“What’s wrong?” Peter asks. Rhodey grins.

“Oh, nothing much. Your dad just has a nasty stomach-flu, is all,” Rhodey explains, laughing about it. Bucky, too, snorts, shaking his head. Peter just frowns.

“Uh, and what’s good about that?” he asks in confusion. That’s when the two soldier suddenly start laughing over the laughing track in the sitcom the two are currently watching. As the crowd on TV finds amusement in whatever happened on the screen, the two soldiers seem unable to hold back their tears as they put their hands on their stomachs and try to keep it in, only failing at it.

“I- I’m sorry, Peter! It’s not funny at al that your old man is sick. That’s not why we’re laughing.”

As if on cue, Steve suddenly storms out of the hallway, wearing an apron and holding an empty glass in his hands along with a towel.

“Oh, hi, Peter. When did you get here?” he asks, though not standing still to talk to him but instead heading to the kitchenette. There he fills Tony’s glass again, heading to the medication drawer and picking out a good painkiller that matches with the current pharmaceutical therapy he’s following.

“Just about a minute ago. Steve, what’s going on? Why are these idiots laughing their asses off?” Peter asks, pointing towards the colonel and the sergeant on the couch. Just as they’re about to regain themselves, they notice Steve standing there and start up another laughing fit.

“They’re being jerks, is all. Don’t mind them, sport,” Steve says, frowning towards the two. Once they notice, they stop (in how much they can), pretending not to look at them anymore. “I actually made your dad some soup, but he couldn’t really keep it down. There’s leftover if you want it?”

“You know, saying Dad can’t keep it down, followed by the suggestion that there’s leftovers? Not really the best combination,” Peter jokes, walking towards Steve and leaning on the counter. Steve blinks for a bit before laughing;

“Oh, right, I’m sorry. Your Dad’s being an idiot again.”

“When is he not?” Peter jokes.

“I CAN HEAR YOU TWO!” Tony shouts from in the bathroom. Peter laughs, jumping up from his seat and getting to the cabinet to take a glass for his own. After filling it with a bit of coke, he sits down on the stool, watching the tablet sparkle up the water.

Eventually, Tony comes shuffling into the room. He’s wearing an old bathrobe, his feet stuffed into slippers Peter recognizes as Steve’s (since Tony doesn’t wear that). His face looks pale, and his eyes seem tired. To be honest, he looks horrible.

“I got your painkiller here, honey,” Steve says, holding up the glass of water towards his partner, who eyes it with disgust.

“Even more drugs for me, huh? I’m taking enough of them as we speak,” Tony mutters bitterly. “Besides, I’m fine.”

“You don’t _look_ fine,” Steve counters drily. Tony glares at him.

“Then stop [looking](https://www-marvel.tumblr.com/post/164906712834/tony-im-finesteve-you-dont-look-finetony-then),” he snaps back. The two give each other a long stare before Steve sighs, pushing the glass in front of Tony.

“You’re lucky that I love you,” Steve says, coming to stand next to Tony to put a hand on his forehead. Tony pulls away, grabbing a hold of the glass and bringing it close to his lips. “Otherwise I would have kicked your ass.”

“Love you, too,” he mumbles before drinking, eyes squinting shut as he takes in the bad taste of the medication.

“You two are obnoxious,” Peter mutters back, jumping off his stool and getting his bag off the ground. “I’m patrolling tonight. See you later!”

He’s in his room before any of the two can even stop him.

  

* * *

 

 

It’s not a date.

Because that’s not what they do, right? They’re just friends, going to hang out and work on some school stuff, seeing that she doesn’t understand the subject and he’s probably the best of the class. That’s the only reason why she asked for his help, after all.

To be fair, he’s really going to the library today. But if he’s checking his appearance out in the mirror to make sure that he’s not looking too much like a loser (though that’s pretty much a hopeless case to begin with), nobody needs to know, right?

Maybe it’s a bit stupid of him to go. After all, she and Harry have only just broken up. And sure, they both don’t really seem upset about their break-up, and MJ _did_ announce last time that Peter’s pretty much the reason why (though she gave that admission to Spider-Man, so she has no clue Peter knows. Or does she? Nobody knows with her).

Fuck this, he’s just going. It’s not a date, after all. To be fair, the only reason he even started to get nervous around her at school is because of what he knows now. He just wishes sometimes she wouldn’t have said it to Spider-Man, because now Peter’s living with the truth. Has MJ noticed his nervousness, yet?

Peter sighs, deciding that he’s just going to be himself. There’s no big deal, it’s just to do homework, make sure MJ understands the subject for the test tomorrow. Nothing more needs come out of this, after all.

Peter grabs his bag, making sure that he’s _not_ wearing the suit underneath – with the fact that he’s not sure about _what_ exactly MJ knows and what she doesn’t, he doesn’t want to risk her catching him wearing it. Then he checks his image in the mirror one more time before heading into the hallway. Things will be fine, nothing will happen.

He gets into the living room, where Peter can see Steve managed to pull Tony out of the workshop. Though, even though the guy is enjoying some time with his partner, it’s clear that he doesn’t particularly approve of what they’re watching.

“South Park, huh? That’s cool,” Peter remarks, making the two men look up. Tony’s head is resting against Steve’s shoulder, who has an arm resting on the head of the couch, another on Tony’s leg.

“It’s disturbing how they just keep on killing that little kid!” Steve remarks. Peter and Tony both roll their eyes at him. Then Peter comes to stand behind him on the couch, knocking him a bit on the head.

“Just think of it as some kind of super power. He keeps on coming back, after all, doesn’t he?” he suggests. Steve blinks a few times before letting out a sigh.

“I suppose you’re right,” he admits. “Though they are cursing quite a lot for a bunch of kids.”

“They’re not cursing more than I am, love,” Tony responds without looking away from the screen.

“Yeah, we still need to talk about that,” Steve starts.

“Don’t bring up the swear jar or I swear I’ll jam that stupid thing over your head,” Tony mumbles, causing for Peter to laugh. “Besides, who the fuck-“

“Language!” Steve hisses, tapping Tony on the head. Tony rolls his eyes.

“Whom the fuck?” he tries as a joke.

“[No](https://incorrect-marvel-quotes.tumblr.com/post/167630785824/tony-who-the-fuck-steve-language-tony-whom).”

“You’re no fun,” Tony mumbles. Meanwhile, on the screen, Kenny dies again and the two boys get out their iconic lines.

“Oh, [jeez](https://incorrect-marvel-quotes.tumblr.com/post/168731333834/peter-parker-oh-jeez-tony-why-the-fuck-are-you),” Peter mutters, feeling sorry for a simple cartoon character.

“Why the fuck are you swearing under my roof?” Tony says, almost jumping up from the couch while he turns towards Peter, who opens his eyes up wide in surprise. A bit confused about what’s happening here, he finds himself unable to say anything.

In return, Steve flicks a pillow over Tony’s head.

“Even when you make fun of me you need to watch your language, jerk!” he warns him. Tony then starts laughing, winking towards Peter and getting back in his previous position against Steve’s shoulder.

“Where are you going, anyway?” Tony asks Peter after having noticed his bag hanging over his shoulder. Peter feels his cheeks redden, glad that neither Tony nor Steve are looking at him right now.

“The library,” he says, not even lying about it.

“Well, make sure the ‘library’ uses a [condom](https://incorrecttonyxeveryonequotes.tumblr.com/post/158555352843/peter-going-out-on-a-date-with-wade-steve), okay?” Tony adds.

“DAD!” Peter shouts.

“TONY!” Steve snaps, throwing another pillow over his head.

“IT WAS JUST A JOKE!” Tony finishes.

 

* * *

 

 

Hanging out with the Avengers almost starts to feel like second nature to Peter, it’s almost as if he’s actually a part of the team. Of course, it doesn’t even make sense that he gets to fight with the Avengers, but can’t join them officially. If Wanda – who is a teenager – is allowed in, why can’t Peter?

But he’s not bringing up the matter again. Instead, he just joins them during training sessions, accompanies them to meetings with the UN and sometimes even tags along during their team activities, which one time even involved Cards against Humanity. There, Peter saw a side of Steve he would never have expected and would even have shocked Tony had he been there.

Right now, there’s no mission. Unless the mission is not getting your ass kicked by the other team. They’re playing some sort of dodgeball, though they’re free to use their powers and gadgets as they please. Who even comes up with these exercises needs to have their head checked, but Peter’s not going to complain. Dodgeball where he gets to use his powers is better than original dodgeball where he’s always getting himself hit as the first one to appear stupid.

“So how’s it going between you and Bucky?” he hears Steve ask somewhere behind him, probably to Natasha. The spy turns towards him, her short red curls bouncing up and down in the movements of her dodges.

“Why’re you interested?” she asks, ducking as a ball passes over her head. She grabs another one from the air and throws it away again.

“Oh, you know, just interested about my best friend, is all,” Steve says casually. Even Peter can see the lifted brow from Natasha. “And I might probably just get you back for that time you tried to play matchmaker back at SHIELD?”

Natasha laughs, suddenly pushing Steve to the side and giving Peter an amused look, nodding towards the super soldier as if he’s the cutest thing around.

“Instead of talking about me, I would like to know more about you,” she says with a knowing look on her face.  

“What do you want to know?” Steve asks. “My secret crush? I’m not telling.”

Wow, Peter hasn’t really heard Steve joke a lot like that. It’s actually quite amusing. He jumps up, webs a ball and throws it Hawkeye’s way. After a loud ‘HEY!’ from the guy, he pretends like he didn’t do anything.

“Have you brought up the marriage thing yet?” she asks. Peter’s mouth falls open behind his mask. A ball smashes against his head. When he turns around, he finds Clint sticking out his tongue towards him. Peter flips him off, glad Steve didn’t see it.

Though Sam did, and he’s giving Peter a thumb’s up.

“I’ll get around to it,” Steve says. “We’ve only been back together for a few days, after all.”

Peter wonders if he actually heard it right; is Steve planning to propose? That would be rather quick, wouldn’t it? They’ve not even been together for a whole year, after all!

“My dear Steve,” Natasha suddenly starts, catching another ball and throwing it towards Bucky. “When what’s left of you gets around to what’s left to be gotten, what’s left to be gotten won’t be worth getting, whatever it is you’ve got left.”

There’s a silence from Steve, who blinks a few times, opens up his mouth, but closes it again time after time. He even lets a few balls bump up against his head, not reacting to it.

Eventually, he speaks up: “When I figure out what that means, I’ll come up with a [crushing reply](https://starsandsupernovae.tumblr.com/post/169070355199/insp-x),” he says. Natasha gives him a wink, eventually running off towards Clint. When Steve’s eyes crosses Peter’s, he shrugs. “Don’t tell your dad any of this.”

“I won’t,” Peter promises, still trying to translate Nat’s message but unable to do so with all these balls flying around.

 


	10. When we're old and grey

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Now an old man of seventy, Tony realizes it's time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I might have finished writing the third chapter of the sequel to Being A Stark yesterday. As it turns out, I'm having trouble finding a name for the title. In case anybody has any ideas for it, don't hesitate to let me know! I'll add a little summary for it in the end notes :-)  
> Anyway, this idea has been plagueing me for a little while, and then suddenly today I came accross this incorrect quote which I felt would be just perfect for this situation. Long story short, it's another incorrect quote, but it's not like the other chapters of that genre!

It’s been a long day. It’s been a little while since Tony’s been awakened early in the morning by a very enthusiastic child, but as it so happens, little Annie never really changes on that front no matter how old she gets. Whether it’s five or ten, she always stays that hyperactive child that behaves too much like her own father.

So after waking up too early and spending the entire day at the zoo trying to avoid the press and camera’s, Steve even came up with the bright idea to get dinner at a restaurant, to really spend the whole day together before Peter and MJ come to pick up their daughter again.

Yeah, it was a long day, but looking at Annie’s sleeping form on the back seat, Tony can’t help but feel that usual fondness he has whenever he looks at his granddaughter. He can’t help but reach out his hand towards Steve, who takes it immediately without taking his eyes off the road.

Normally Tony drives, but he forgot his glasses at home. Steve forbade him to get behind the wheel after it got dark. Tony’s not going to argue about it; he’s 70 after all. He’s all too aware he’s not the youngest in the world anymore.

“That restaurant was a good one,” Steve remarks, giving a quick glance in the mirror. A smile forms on his lips, and the dimples in his cheeks come back up. As he expresses his fondness, the lines around his eyes become more visible. Tony loves them; they’re just perfect.

“Do you have plans tomorrow?” Tony asks then, keeping his voice low so he wouldn’t wake up the kid in the back seat. Steve smiles and nods.

“Yeah, I have to go to the Academy, I already told you this yesterday, remember?”

Steve doesn’t sound annoyed, which is good. And Tony _does_ recall Steve saying something about having to head back to the academy. He at least thought they’d have a whole day together, but half a day is just as good.

Steve stops the car in front of Steve’s house. Taking off his seat belt, he turns towards Tony and gives him a wide smile.

“Did I tell you that I love you?” Steve asks. Tony takes in the face in front of him; that once so smooth skin now decorated with wrinkles, that chin now having a permanent stubble that he’s since long given up to constantly shave. His once fair, light hair now grey, almost white. Tony doesn’t know how he’s ever gotten this lucky.

“You might have mentioned it once or twice,” Tony responds. “It’s not surprising, though, since I’m quite easy to love.”

Steve starts laughing, leaning forward to steal a kiss from Tony, who returns the gesture and puts a hand behind Steve’s head to keep the kiss longer. Eventually they pull back, turning towards their sleeping ten-year-old granddaughter.

“Let’s get her back to her parents, shall we?” Tony offers, and Steve nods. The two get out of the car, Tony careful to make sure he doesn’t fall down on his face. Meanwhile, Steve easily gets Annie out of her seat, holding her in his arms as he gets to the sidewalk. Annie’s long brown curls fall in front of her face, and Tony can’t fight that strong urge to pull them aside.

“Ain’t she a sleepin’ beauty?” Steve asks fondly. Tony smiles again.

“She’s perfect,” he can’t help but say. Annie is pretty much the perfect mash-up of Peter and MJ, having Peter’s nose, freckles and mouth, along with MJ’s darker skin and greenish eyes. When she smiles, Tony sees that typical Stark-smile on his granddaughter face. He couldn’t be prouder.

The pair gets to the front door of the house, where Tony rings the bell. It’s not like he doesn’t have the key to this place, but he kind of forgot it at the Mansion. Besides, it’s not that long until somebody opens the door. Tony’s glad to see Peter standing there.

“Oh, hi dads! Did you three have fun?” Peter asks, quickly reaching towards Annie and taking her over from Steve.

“We sure did,” Steve returns. “Thank you for letting her stay the week-end, son.”

Peter waves it off. “It’s no big deal, I know how much she loves spending time with her grandfathers,” he says. Meanwhile, Annie makes a whining noise against Peter’s shoulder, stretching her arms and struggling a bit to be let go.

Quickly, Peter puts her down until she stands.

“Okay, say goodbye to your grandpa’s and then you go brush your teeth,” Peter instructs his daughter fondly. Annie nods, rubbing her eyes before turning towards Steve and Tony and wrapping her arms around both their middles.

“Thank you, granpa Steve and granpa Tony,” Annie says before pulling away and heading upstairs. Tony and Steve both chuckle.

“We should head home, too. It’s been a long day,” Steve then says a bit sadly, suddenly wrapping an arm over Tony’s shoulder and pulling him closer. Peter nods in understanding.

“It’s alright. I’ll see you tomorrow, right?”

Tony agrees. “Yes, I’ll be there. But watch out, it’ll probably be the last time you’ll ever see me at a board meeting.”

Peter rolls his eyes. “That’s what you say every meeting,” he states. Tony then just shrugs. “Anyway, drive safely, alright?”

“Will do, bye son,” Steve says. The three give each other a long hug. But after that, they say their goodbyes. Peter closes the door to make sure his daughter is brushing her teeth, while Tony and Steve head back to the car. As Steve starts up the engine, Tony hums along with the song.

“Wow, Tony, I didn’t know you knew this song so well?” Steve wonders. Tony snorts.

“You’re kidding me, right? They played it on the radio all the time back in 2017! They even played it at that gala, it was our first public outing, remember?” Tony thinks back fondly of those years, a bit sad that more than twenty years have already gone by since then. He would have expected the future to be more different, but… being the provider for the future for so many years, it seems like it’s all just designed the way Tony thinks. Or the way Peter thinks, now.

“Oh, I remember, you complained about it the entire dance, saying you couldn’t believe I got you to dance on this very song,” Steve jokes. Tony snorts, but keeps on singing along.

 _“Baby, I'm dancing in the dark with you between my arms. Barefoot on the grass, listening to our favorite song…_ ”

“You hated the song with every fiber in your heart right up until that dance,” Steve sighs out happily with a small smile on his lips.

“I can’t help it, I’m not really one to like things everybody likes. Sheeran _was_ pretty popular back then,” Tony clarifies.

“You don’t have to explain, dear,” Steve assures him while reaching out his hand, linking his fingers together with Tony’s. In return, Tony doesn’t respond, instead closing his eyes and smiling happily as he leans his head back. He can’t believe that, after all these years, he’s right here. Despite all the shit Tony’s put him through, psychologically, mentally… Steve is still here. He still loves him, still cares for him.

_I suggest a deal, okay? When you’re ready, you’ll be the one to ask, alright?_

_I think I can go with that agreement._

The words sound so clear in Tony’s head. It’s impossible to ignore it, making his chest feel warm again. At least now he knows he doesn’t have to worry about it being a possible heart-attack.

With their hands linked during the entire drive home, it takes about ten more minutes for Steve to drive the car up to the garage. Sensing their arrival, the door to the garage opens up, allowing them inside. The lights turn on automatically.

They call this the mansion, but in fact it’s quite a humble little house. Ever since Tony’s arthritis came back (about the time the serum was completely out of his system), they all came to the agreement that he doesn’t need his workshop close to him anymore. Knowing Steve likes the simple things, they build a small house that’s still high-tech enough for Tony, but fits all the parts of dream-house for Steve, too.

As for the tower, the penthouse is still there. Nobody lives there, though. It’s more of a… available space in case anything were to happen to Peter’s house, or their house. That, or it’s for when Peter needs to stay at the tower for a longer while and only has a few hours to sleep before he needs to start again.

Dropping the keys in their designated spot, Steve shrugs off his coat and hangs it up on the coat rack. Meanwhile, Tony kicks off his shoes and heads for the kitchen, remembering that’s the last place he saw his glasses.

Finally, when his vision is back to the way it’s supposed to be, Tony reaches for the fridge to get out the bottle of water. It’s too late for coffee, and they don’t really have much else in the house anymore. So Tony gets himself a glass of water, walks towards their bedroom and sits down on the bed while he searches trough his nightstand.

“Where is it…?” he mutters to himself, going through his stuff while still holding his glass in the other hand. He only realizes after a minute that he’s been sticking out his tongue during his search. It takes a few minutes longer until he finds what he’s looking for.

Great. He quickly pockets it in his back pocket and stands back up. His knees ache when he does that, but at least it’s bearable. At least it’s not worthy of getting a prosthesis yet. Tony doesn’t think he’s psychologically ready to face that reality just yet.

“Honey, where are you?” Tony asks while leaving the bedroom. The good thing about this place is the fact that their bedroom is on the main floor, which means they don’t have the take the stairs all the time. As a matter of fact, there is no upstairs. It’s all just a one-floor house with a super-smart AI installed in it and three stupid bots causing destruction in the garage.

“I’m in the living room. Come on, the news is on!”

Tony lets out a soft breath, nodding to himself as he starts to head towards the living room. Catching a glimpse of his reflection in the mirror, any thought and doubt leaves his mind. Because this is it now, right? It’s taken a few years for him to accept it, but there’s no possible way for him to deny it anymore.

Steve loves him. Unconditionally. _Only him_.

Tony winks at his reflection, seeing the white-haired man do the same back. Then, quickly, he puts back a few wild hairs of his goatee and clicks his teeth together – his _real_ teeth, might he add!

“I’m coming!” Tony then calls out. He wishes his reflection luck before heading towards the living room, where he finds Steve seated on the couch with one spot left for him. Tony doesn’t hesitate, sitting down on the couch and leaning his head against Steve’s shoulder. Steve, in turn, rests his head on top of Tony’s, and together the two watch the happenings of the world. Of course, it never gets better. Every day there’s another drama out there. But, finally, Tony’s able to say that he officially can no longer do anything about it. Retired and resting, that’s what he’s supposed to be. There’s a new Iron Man around there (though it’s actually a girl and she goes with the name _Ironheart_ instead). Tony’s made peace with the fact that she exceeds him in intelligence. Who else would he trust the mantle on, after all?

Besides, Annie seems to like Riri’s version of Ironheart a lot.

After the news ends and a random movie starts up, Tony takes a deep breath, figuring that he should just do it. Get it over with.

“Steve?” he starts.

“Yes, dear?” Steve returns fondly without taking his head away from Tony’s.

“You know, Steve… I don’t really like your name,” Tony teases. It gets a reaction from Steve, who pulls away and puts a frown on his forehead. His surprise is quite an amusing sight.

“Uh, excuse me?” Steve gets out, confused by Tony’s sudden revelation.

“Your name,” Tony adds. “Your last name in particular. It sucks…”

Steve’s face turns a bit red at that, the frown turns into a scowl. Oh, there’s fire in his eyes. Tony just loves to mess with his man like this.

“What’s wrong with my last name?” Steve asks a bit angrily. He crosses his arms together, getting enough distance between the two of them.

“You should change it,” Tony continues on like nothing’s wrong at all.

“To what?” Oh, he’s getting snappy. This is just too good.

“Rogers-Stark,” Tony says before standing up. He lives for that wordless expression on Steve’s face as Tony gets back to his feet and starts walking towards the kitchen with his now empty glass in his hands. Then, behind him, he can hear Steve mutter to himself.

“Did he just-?” he starts, mumbling before shouting. “DID YOU JUST [PROPOSE](https://incorrecttonyxeveryonequotes.tumblr.com/post/157165507478/tony-you-know-steve-i-dont-really-like-your) TO ME?!”

Tony doesn’t respond, instead leaving the living room and getting back in the kitchen. Once there, he puts his glass down on the table and turns towards the fridge to get the water bottle back out.

“DON’T YOU WALK AWAY!” Steve calls out, probably scrambling to his feet as he tries to join Tony in the kitchen. By the time his glass his filled again, Steve is standing right next to him again. Tony grins, pulling the glass towards his mouth and keeping his eyes averted from Steve.

“Are you smirking?!” Steve still talks a bit louder than normally, probably still excited about it. Tony raises an eyebrow, finishing his glass before dropping it down. Then he makes a complete turn, heading back to the living room.

He’s stopped by Steve’s hand grabbing on to his arm, reminding Tony very much of the time of their first kiss.

“Come back here, you little-“  Steve mutters out while he pulls Tony towards him. Before he can finish the sentence, the two have their lips smashed together. Tony’s hand go for Steve’s waist, while Steve’s reach for Tony’s face. They kiss for a lifetime, holding on to each other like it’s the only thing keeping them alive.

Tony then reaches for his back pocket, taking out the vibranium ring he’s had made years ago just for this very occasion. When he holds it in front of him, showing it to Steve, he looks at it a bit sheepishly. Then he puts a hand on the table to keep himself stable while he drops down on one knee. His left hand taking Steve’s, the other one holding up the ring.

“Steve Rogers, I know It’s been so long. I know you probably thought it wouldn’t happen anymore. But I love you. And you love me. We’re two old people who love each other, grey and wrinkled and-“

“I get it, Tony,” Steve interrupts him with a laugh. Tony chuckles nervously, too.

“Just- you know the question I’m going to ask, Steve. Let’s not make this a cliché thing, alright?”

Steve rolls his eyes, taking Tony’s face into his hands and leaning forward to kiss him on the mouth again.

“You made it cliché the moment you went down on one knee,” he whispers against his lips. Then he pulls back, taking the silver-colored ring from Tony’s finger to put it on. Of course, it fits perfectly. It would have been awkward if it didn’t, since it’s almost impossible to resize it

“So I guess we’re getting married now?” Tony then states. Steve keeps on admiring his new ring while nodding.

“Yes, we are,” he says proudly. Then he frowns, looking back down at Tony. “You can get up now, you know?”

“I can’t, you need to help me up. I’m seventy, you know.”

“Old man.”

“But an old man you love, right?”

“Right, Tony.”

 

* * *

 

 

“Two months later, they get married at the beach in Malibu. And from then on, they are known as Steve Rogers-Stark and Tony Stark-Rogers.”

“And they are happy. So very happy.”

“And also so very old.”

“Tony…”

“What, I’m just making telling fact to these kids?”

“Don’t you think these kids can’t tell for themselves that we’re old?”

Tony and Steve both look at the class in front of them, filled with confused new super-heroes. Most of them probably wondering what they did to deserve this. Then, suddenly, one of them raises his hand.

“Sirs?” the boy asks. Tony and Steve give him a wide smile.

“Yes, William?” they ask, simultaneously.

“Can I finally go to the toilet?”

Their smiles disappear after that. They give the kid a long stare before Steve opens his mouth again at last.

“Class dismissed,” he says. All the kids get back up immediately after that, packing up their stuff. As if they want to get out of the room as quickly as they can. Tony rolls his eyes.

“These kids don’t appreciate a good story,” Tony mumbles. Steve snorts while he, too, starts to collect his stuff. It was his last class of the day, so now they can head home again.

“They do, Tony. They just don’t want to hear the same story again time after time.”

“Pssht, our story is one worthy of constant repeating, I tell you.”

“Now you sound like Thor.”

“Is that a bad thing?”

“Let’s just go home, Tony.”

“Of course, dear husband of mine.”

They link their hands, never letting go as they leave the academy behind them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Summary for the sequel:
> 
> After having survived the infinity war, everybody tries to get their lives back to normal. But while Tony is trying to face the horrors he faced on the battlefield and Steve is trying to keep his relationship alive, Peter gets to the real challenge in life; college.
> 
> As for the setting of the story: it's after the Infinity War. There will be many references to the timestamp about the battle (A parent's loss). Peter's ready to become an Avenger. He's moved out, renting an apartment with his friend Johnny. Harry is doing a trip around Europe, Ned is at MIT while MJ is going the artistic way. 
> 
> In case anybody has idead for names for the story, shoot 'em my way! :-)  
> Also, in the first chapter you will see a list of upcoming other timestamps!


	11. Sex Tapes and Bets

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clint and Bucky have a bet, and Natasha wonders if she's the only adult in the team.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had a lot of fun writing this one. It was an idea that had been in my mind a few times, but I never knew how to start with it. Then this morning, while I was watching South Park, I suddenly got hit with a large wave of inspiration.   
> I hope you like it! It's something else :-)

Natasha Romanoff is not the stoic person everybody thinks she is. Once in a while, she can make jokes, lighten the mood. She can laugh, have fun. It’s not like she’s been traumatized by her past, after all.

And she’s willing to go along with many jokes; making Clint believe he’s been in a coma for three years after a good night’s sleep, telling Tony that they saw Peter make out with Deadpool. The usual small pranks like hand buzzers and creative stuff with tomato sauce can also easily make her day.

She’s about ready to get in another plot with the guys when she walks in to the common room and sees Sam and James talking to each other, clearly discussing something. Without listening to it, she sits herself down on the border of the couch, letting her legs rest over James’ and taking his hair into her hands. At least he lets her do her thing whenever she feels the urge to start braiding his hair together.

“What’s this about?” she asks curiously, picking three small strands of hair and starting up the braiding process, pulling James’ head back a little to get a better view of her work.

“I’m trying to prove a point to Wilson here,” James explains, pointing towards Sam, who rolls his eyes in return.

“You can try it, but it doesn’t prove _anything_ at all, Barnes,” Sam counters in annoyance.

“How could it not?!”

“Because I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s the other way around as well!”

“Okay, I would say you’ve lost me but I wasn’t really ever following. What are you nerds on about?” Natasha pulls James’ head back again after he’s been leaning forward to point at Sam. James follows suit, leaning his back against Natasha’s legs.

“Natalia, I know you can think logically here; who do you think does the heavy work between Stark and Steve?” James asks, leaning his head back so much so he can look up at her. Natasha rolls her eyes again and pushes him forward.

“You’re going to have to be more specific,” Natasha mumbles. Because clearly, Steve has always been the heavy worker when it comes to _actual_ work. But, then again, give Tony an idea and he’ll pull out all the stops to invent it, build it. Creating that new element for his arc reactor is the perfect example of that, when he destroyed his own workshop to make it.

“To put it crudely, who of the two takes it up the ass,” Sam explains with his eyes closed and a hand covering his eyebrows. Natasha stops her movements, giving Sam a shocked look. Blinking a few times, she then tugs on James’ hair.

“Auw!” James complains.

“Seriously?! What does it even matter?” Without letting go of James’ hair, she continues the first braid before finishing it off. Then she goes on to the second one while glaring at the two men.

“I just want to prove to him that Steve’s the _man_ in this relationship,” James says, pointing up a finger and hissing when Natasha slaps it away again.

“Don’t tell me you’re actually idiots, because I might just have to break up with you if you are,” Natasha mutters. “As long as _both_ of them have penises, they’re both _men_ , in case you’ve missed the biology lessons when you were kids?”

“We know that, Nat,” Sam defends himself. Right after that, the door opens, revealing Steve to walk inside. He looks sweaty, like he’s just been in the gym for the past two hours or so. He heads to the fridge and takes out a bottle of water. After that, he turns to look at the three on the couch.

“Hey Steve!” James calls out for Steve. The super-soldier smiles and heads their way.

“Don’t even dare,” Natalia mutters towards the two men next to her.

“C’mon Natalia,” James hisses in return. “Hey Steve, we have a little question.”

Steve frowns. Natasha pulls his hair again. James makes another painful sound.

“What’s wrong?” Steve asks, looking confused. When it looks like James isn’t going to answer, he turns to Sam. Sam, who isn’t looking at Natasha at all, and who can’t see her warning glare.

“Steve, my man, Barnes and I have been in a discussion about this for the past half hour or so. You can help us out,” Sam says with a wink towards Steve, who in return nods and leans against the couch while he waits for it.

“Sure, you can ask me anything,” Steve tells them. Oh, that ever-so-honest guy…

“So you and Stark, it’s going well, isn’t it?” Sam asks. Steve shrugs.

“Sure, I mean, we have our arguments but what couple hasn’t, right?” Steve winks towards James and Natasha. Natasha gives him a vague smile, and James simply chuckles guiltily. Steve doesn’t seem to pay too much attention to it.

“Well, Barnes and I were wondering who’s the pitcher and who’s the catcher between the two of you?”

Steve then frowns again, looking even more confused than before. Lowering his water bottle, he shakes his head.

“I’m sorry, Tony and I haven’t been playing baseball...” Steve admits a bit surprised.

“Nor do you have to, this whole question is stupid,” Natasha mutters, making Steve even more confused. She just wishes she could warn him about the stupidity that is about to be thrown his way.

“Not baseball, more… figuratively,” Sam continues. That doesn’t seem to help at all as Steve just shrugs and shakes his head.

“I literally have no idea what you’re talking about, guys…” he confesses.

“For crying out loud, Stevie, who takes it up the ass?” James suddenly asks. Steve’s whole posture changes after that. He stands still, eyes wide and mouth fallen open. As if it’s just a picture of Steve standing in front of them, he’s unmoving.

“Good job, idiots,” Natasha mutters, finally finishing off the braid. Then she pushes James forward and gets off the couch, walking up to Steve and putting a hand on his shoulder.

“Come on, Steve. Let’s leave these idiots with their stupid questions, shall we?” she asks. Steve nods lightly, finally taking his first step back towards the door. Without saying anything to Sam and James, the two leave the common room and head back to the gym instead. Steve could use some sparring as a distraction, after all.

 

* * *

 

 

They don’t stop. Instead, they even involve the biggest man-child of them all; Barton. Natasha catches them talking about it during breakfast (great conversation material…), during training, and during simple relax-time.

Since long has Natasha decided to give up trying to stop them. After her little sparring session with Steve she’s had a talk with him, where he expressed his discomfort of talking about sex so openly. Steve’s a shy person when it comes to these subjects, and Natasha can’t blame him at all for it.

Besides, it’s not like she minds _not_ having to talk about it. The only reason she has it is to make sure James isn’t going to go crazy from the lack of it.

So she lets them talk, discuss, build up theories. She has nothing to add, other than eating her plate and instead address Wanda and Vision about their plans for the day. And while Wanda shares her stories about how much she loves being able to go to school now, Vision doesn’t have much to say.

At one point during their lunch, Steve walks back in. He doesn’t ‘live’ in the compound anymore, staying at the tower more often than not. That means he’s being spared from all these childish discussions during the normally peaceful parts of the day.

“Hi everybody,” Steve says, with Tony walking right behind him, one hand in his pocket and the other one biting into a green apple. Natasha’s all too aware of the two men staring right at Tony, checking out his walk. She rolls her eyes, trying to make clear she’s not a part of their stupid little quest of ‘wisdom’.

“Okay wonder-trio, what’s with the staring at my junk?” Tony suddenly asks with no shame at all. Natasha doesn’t need to look up to know Steve’s face is already red. “I mean, I know I pack some good stuff in there but I thought you knew you won’t ever get it?”

Steve groans in frustration, and Natasha and Wanda both roll their eyes as well. If they’re going to involve Tony, things are seriously going to get out of hand.

“It’s just- we’ve been in an argument over something and we need you to clear something up,” Clint says with his mouth full. Tony raises his eyebrows, accepting the cup of coffee Steve hands to him.

“Guys, don’t you dare,” Steve grumbles towards them.

“Come on, Cap, we’re curious beings, you know!” Clint counters. Steve’s hand comes up to cover his eyes.

“Alright, shoot, what’s the question? If you’ve got Steve flustered like this, it must be something good,” Tony urges them on, sounding a bit excited. The grin on his lips is huge before it disappears behind the cup of coffee.

“We were wondering who takes it in the ass,” Clint says, crudely. The coffee comes up the wrong way, and Tony almost literally spits it back out until the three men are covered with it. Steve’s red face now not only has shame on it, but also anger.

“Guys! There’s a seventeen-year-old girl here! Show some respect!” Steve almost shouts at them. But Wanda just snorts at that.

“It’s alright, Steve. I already knew what they were going to ask. Telepath, remember?” Wanda points at her head to accentuate it. Steve closes his eyes and groans even more. Meanwhile, Tony is still trying to regain his breath after almost choking on his coffee.

“I’m sorry, did I hear it right? You guys actually _want_ to know about our sex life?” Tony gets out hoarsely, his voice shaking whenever Steve gives him a slap on the back to make sure he doesn’t suffocate. Tony’s face, too, is almost completely red.

“I mean, not literally. It’s just, we have a bet here,” Sam says while shrugging.

“Okay, what are the options?”

“Tony, you’re not actually going to tell them, are you?” Natasha interrupts. Tony holds up his hand to shut her up before nodding towards the three men.

“Well, Barnes here said it’s you, while Clint says it’s Steve,” Sam explains, pointing towards the two men. Tony crosses his arms together, nodding.

“Okay, and what about you?” he asks with a raised eyebrow.

“Oh, I don’t know, I just wanna see who is going to lose,” Sam says with a grin. Steve slaps his forehead, while Natasha flicks the three men’s as well.

“So let me get this straight,” Tony starts, holding up a hand. “How much money are we talking about?”

“TONY!” Steve shouts.

“Hold on, Steve, I’m just curious, is all,” Tony says with a smirk.

“Uh, fifty bucks?” Barnes admits. Tony snorts, with his arms crossed, flipping the comment off.

“That’s barely anything,” he says, grabbing Steve by the arm. “Ah, well, I guess you’ll never know. Come, honey.”

“Yes, dear,” Steve mutters in response, giving Wanda, Vision and Natasha a short wave. After that, they’re out of the common room. Natasha crosses her arms, glaring towards the three men on the other side of the table.

“You see? You’re never going to find out, just drop it now,” Natasha warns them.

“No way! We’ll find it one way or another!” Clint says, smashing his fist on the table. “And I know exactly who to ask!”

The three stand up simultaneously, running the same direction Steve and Tony went to. Natasha just shakes her head, figuring she shouldn’t pay too much attention to them, anymore.

“It’s funny, really. Even though I _just_ reminded everybody I’m a telepath and kind of _did_ see the answer inside Tony’s head, neither of them has thought to ask me,” Wanda says with a playful grin on her face. Natasha and Vision give her a long look before bursting out laughing.

 

* * *

 

 

Natasha is in the gym, giving the training dummy probably half of her best shot. She’s sweaty, sticky and still full of so much energy inside of her. A small shout comes out of her mouth as she swings her leg up towards the head of the dummy, and it comes flying off.

“Oops,” she mutters, seeing the destroyed thing in front of her. She goes to the side to pick up her water bottle, and takes a large swing of it while putting her hand on her hip. After the bottle is empty, she takes a few long breaths before looking up. “FRIDAY, where are James, Clint and Sam right now?”

“ _They are currently in Stark Tower, on Dr. Banner’s floor,”_ FRIDAY reveals. Natasha frowns, wondering what they might be doing there? Should she call up Bruce, try and ask him? For a moment, she hesitates.

“Call Bruce, please,” she finally says, clearing her throat while she waits for Bruce’s face to appear on the screen next to her. It doesn’t take too long before he picks up.

“ _Nat? Why are Sam, Clint and Bucky here asking me about Tony’s sex life?”_ Bruce asks, a bit shocked. He doesn’t even greet her, which means that he was probably just about to call somebody up himself.

“Oh, I should have figured that would happen. They have a bet and neither Tony nor Steve want to tell them the answer,” Natasha says with a shrug. She reaches behind her head to readjust her bun. “Whatever you do, don’t indulge them or they’ll be asking for more.”

“ _But I don’t_ know _anything?”_

“Bruce, it’s alright. Just… throw some water on them to chase them off or something,” Natasha tries. Bruce then starts laughing. When suddenly the door opens again, Natasha sees Peter walk in, right on time for his training of the day. Good.

She gives him a wave, and Peter holds up his thumb, then pointing towards his bag to say he’s going to change.

“Okay, Peter’s here for his training. Just… chase them off, try and get them back to the compound. I’ll take care of them, alright?”

“ _Alright, thank you, Nat,”_ Bruce returns. Natasha gives him a fond smile before hanging up the phone. She’s at least glad there’s no bad blood between the two of them. Whatever their small fling was – though it was sincere – it’s now completely over. Friendship and nothing more is what Natasha wants from Bruce.

Training with Peter is good distraction. He talks about school, about senior prom being planned too much ahead of time. Natasha listens, sometimes uses his distractedness for her advantage. Peter takes the blows, avoiding most of them. Training has changed much now that they all know he’s actually Spider-Man. And _that_ had truly been the surprise of the century, she remembers. Stark’s goofy little kid who is clumsier than anything else? Who would have thought?

When Peter takes another blow Natasha stops for a moment, giving him a frown.

“Peter, you’re mind is all over the place! You haven’t even hit me _once_? What’s going on?”

Peter sighs before clearing his throat and shrugging. He wipes off a few drops of sweat while regaining his breath.

“Harry and MJ broke up,” he says suddenly starting up the next punch. Natasha avoids it easily.

“Oh, that’s too bad,” Natasha states. It’s not really the saddest news there is, but Harry’s been living under this roof for a while now – under _strict_ surveillance, obviously (even at school there’s still somebody watching him) – and Natasha can’t say she dislikes the boy.

“I mean, it’s not like they’re sad about it or anything,” Peter continues, starting up the next blow. “But yesterday when an old woman handed me money and I went to bring it to the homeless again, MJ was there and we talked.”

“You talked? Or did Spider-Man talk?” she asks, avoiding the next punch and using her foot to throw him down again. Immediately, Peter jumps back up and shakes it off like it’s not too big a deal.

“Spider-Man, obviously. Because Spider-Man was the one to find out that Peter Parker is the reason why MJ broke up with Harry,” Peter groans in frustration, his hits suddenly getting stronger. Natasha has to focus hard to avoid them all.

“Oh, that’s awkward,” she states, ducking once and grabbing Peter by the arms to turn him around. With a trained movement he escapes out of that struggle, bringing some space between the two of them. “And now what?”

“Now Harry tells me I have to ask her to senior prom! He’s out of his mind!”

Natasha laughs at that boyish innocence she hopes Peter will never lose. Those big brown eyes look so confused, begging for help. The exact opposite of how Stark’s eyes have ever been.

She’s about to open up her mouth when suddenly the door opens up again, revealing Steve and Tony to walk inside. They give the two a small wave, and Steve returns the gesture. When he walks ahead of Tony, the engineer instead points towards Steve’s ass and mouths ‘Oh my god!’.

Peter groans in frustration again, and Natasha, too, rolls her eyes. After that, she stretches her arms a bit.

“Alright, I’m headed to the toilet, just wait here or use the dummy, okay?”

Peter nods, loosening his shoulders before giving the dummy Natasha broke earlier a hard kick. Much to her surprise, it flies right off the ground and lands against the wall on the other side of the room. With wide eyes, Peter gapes at the sudden destruction he’s caused.

“HEY! YOU COST ME A LOT OF MONEY, BUDDY!” Tony shouts somewhere in the back.

“I’M SORRY DAD!”

Natasha gives him a small pat on the shoulder before heading out. A quick glance at Steve and Tony, she sees that they’re just about to start their own sparring session. And then, just for a _short moment_ , she thinks she sees it. It’s the way they move, or the way they try to regain posture after another blow. And she’s staring for longer than she wants.

 _Don’t lower yourself to their level, Natasha!_ She shakes her head, trying to get her head free from this sudden spaced-out stance. Then she hurries towards the bathroom. Because what does it even matter, right? It’s _their_ sex-life, and nobody else has any business with it, no?

By the time she gets back out, Steve and Tony are still going at it. She keeps her eyes away from them, instead heading back to Peter as quickly as she could.

She should have hurried.

It doesn’t take a genius to find out why there are suddenly three grown men crowding a very confused Peter Parker. She wonders if she should create a diversion to let Peter escape, or if she should just kick their asses for harassing a teenager with stupid matters like these?

“DUDE?! WHAT KIND OF QUESTION IS THAT?!” Peter asks with clear disgust on his face. He puts his hands on his ears, shaking his head while squeezing his eyes shut. Natasha hurries towards them and flicks the three men on the backs of their heads. Behind her, she can hear the pair in question move to find out what’s going on here.

“Are you proud now? Attacking this innocent boy with these stupid questions? You’re not going to get the answers, assholes!” she calls out, probably a bit too loud. Behind her, Tony crosses his arms together and Steve slaps his own forehead.

“We just need to know, Nat! It’s fifty bucks!” James complains. Natasha rolls her eyes.

“You have about ten seconds to get out of here before I start kicking your asses, you understood?”

The three men nod with sudden fear clear on their faces. Hurrying out of the gym, she puts a hand on Peter’s shoulder in an attempt to comfort him.

“It’s alright, Peter, they’re gone now,” she assures him. Peter blinks open one eye and slowly starts to lower his hands. Finding his dad standing there behind Natasha, he lets out an exasperated breath.

“What’s wrong with them?” Peter asks, clearly still disgusted about the question. Natasha wants to speak up, but she’s interrupted by Tony who walks her by to hold Peter by the shoulders.

“It’s alright. I think I have a way to make hem stop,” Tony assures him.

“You’re not seriously going to tell them now, are you?” Steve asks, voicing Natasha’s thoughts almost perfectly.

“No way! Not yet at least.”

After that, he gestures for everybody to come closer. After that, he starts talking.

 

* * *

 

 

It’s lunch again. Vision has prepared some eggs and bacon for everybody, and everybody is just enjoying their food for a moment. The discussion about the bet hasn’t even come up today, and for a short moment, Natasha feels a sense of victory.

On the other hand, she also hopes they haven’t yet dropped the case, because this plan could just be hilarious.

Right on cue, Tony walks in while stretching his back and arms, yawning loudly. It’s clear over-acting, but man-children like James, Clint and Sam aren’t going to catch that.

“Hi, Tony. You alright?” Natasha asks, pretending to be curious. Tony holds up a thumb while heading for the coffee machine.

“I’m a-okay! I mean, I had the awesomest morning of my life, if you really want to know.”

“Oh, please, do tell?”

Tony smirks, filling his cup with coffee and then taking place at the table, not addressing the boys but still talking loud enough for them to hear.

“Okay so I come up to Steve and I tell him something as a joke, right?”

Natasha nods, though she pretends to have no clue what he’s talking about.

“And I’m like: ‘Steve, you know what would be totally hot? A _sex-tape_!’ and right when I thought he would refuse, do you know what he says?”

Oh, Tony’s good at this! Natasha holds back her laughter.

“No, what did he say?” she gets out with a lot of effort.

“The dude _agrees_ with me! Steve Rogers! Agrees to make a sex tape! So I’m like ‘HELL YEAH’ and I set everything up, and this morning we just had what I think is the _best_ sex in our lives!”

Natasha bites her lip, finding the shocked looks on the men’s face just hilarious. Tony shrugs off his jacket and hangs it up to the chair he’s seated on.

“Come on, Tony, I don’t really need to know all that!” Natasha complains, giving him a slap on the shoulder. Tony then gives her a smug look, fishing something out of his inner pocket of the jacket and holding it up in the air. Natasha can see immediately what it is.

“You’re just jealous that you’re never going to get your hands on _this_ piece of art,” he returns. Natasha rolls her eyes.

“So now you’re walking around with porn, is that it? Porn of you and your boyfriend? You two are disgusting,” she mutters out. It’s not too hard to pretend to be disgusted by it. Tony flips her off, putting the DVD back in his jacket. After that, Steve walks inside, looking oblivious to everything. Once he notices everybody looking at him, he frowns.

“Okay, what’s going on?” he asks in confusion.

“Dude, you _agreed_ to make a sex tape?” James asks, sounding literally appalled and shocked by it. Steve’s mouth flies open, eyes going wide. Then he throws a glare at Tony.

“YOU TOLD THEM?!” he shouts out, his face becoming even redder than before.

“Yeah, I mean, why wouldn’t I? I want everybody to know how hot my boyfriend is by agreeing to do it, you know?”

“Tony! Oh my GOD!” Steve runs back out of the kitchen. Tony then sighs, pushing his chair back and following right after him.

“STEVE!”

After that, they’re gone. And now all Natasha needs to do is wait. She clears her throat, getting up from her seat and taking her cup of coffee in her hands.

“I’m staying out of this crap,” she tells them all, making her way out of the common room, giving Vision a subtle nod that he, too, needs to head out.

“I’ll, uh… I’m going to check if they’re alright,” Vision mutters out, leaving his spot on the table to head towards the direction Steve and Tony went to. They’ll explain to him what exactly the plan is, here. They only just need to wait, now.

It takes ten minutes before Tony returns, sans Steve. He looks hurried, running to grab his jacket and then supposedly following Steve out the compound. All the while, the three remaining men at the table stay suspiciously quiet.

“They took the bait?” Natasha asks in a whisper. Tony searches through the inside of his jacket before holding up his thumb. After that, he walks up to Steve, takes his hand into his own, and the pair move out to get back to the tower. Natasha returns to the common room to put her cup of coffee away. Now that Tony’s gone, the three men at the table are whispering again.

“Okay, what’s up with you guys? Why are you all gossiping like fourteen-year-old girls?” Natasha asks, putting her cup into the sink and leaving it there. Surely somebody will wash it.

“That _idiot_ took the tape!” James says, pointing towards Clint with clear surprise on his face. Good, acting time.

“You WHAT?!” she shouts. “ARE YOU CRAZY? YOU REALLY THINK TONY WON’T FIND OUT?!”

The three wince for a moment, but then Clint jumps back up.

“You know what?! So what? At least now we can find out the truth!”

“Don’t tell me you actually plan on watching this…?” Sam asks with clear disgust in his voice.

“Eh, I’ve seen some horrible things in life. I’m sure this isn’t going to top that,” Clint disagrees. “If you’re all too chicken, I can just tell you the result in the end?”

“No way, you’ll cheat!” James counters. Natasha just rolls her eyes.

“You’re all disgusting,” she mutters. Clint jumps up from his seat, running back to his room to get his laptop. Meanwhile, James and Sam start cleaning up the table. Natasha removes herself from the table, instead going to the couch. She picks up the book she’s left on the table and starts reading.

Or she pretends to do so, at least.

When Clint returns with his computer, the three of them place the laptop on the table. Natasha holds in her breath while she tries to listen to the two of them.

“Okay, just a few seconds, alright? We do not need to see the whole thing!” Sam reminds the two of them. Clint waves off the comment.

“Yeah yeah, ad if it takes too long we’ll skip to the real act,” he agrees. Natasha bites on her lip as she tries to hold back her laughter. Especially when they press the play-button.

_“You are now watching a ‘sex-tape’. If you are not me or Steve, you should not be watching this and you are a bad Barton, Barnes or Wilson.”_

“What the-?” Clint gets out. Natasha already knows what is next. There’s a whole cinematic sequence she had too much fun filming. A slow camera shot that passes over several pieces of clothing that accentuate once more what they’re supposedly watching. After that, Natasha made sure to tilt the camera up until it’s showing only Steve, lying on the bed.

He had just come back from the gym, not bothering to get washed to get that sweaty look they were going for. Then he lay down on the bed, with his sweaty clothes still on. Natasha had positioned the camera until only his upper body was visible.

And Steve had been grimacing, acting even better than probably he would have expected.

“ _Oh, harder Tony. Harder!”_

_“I’m going as hard as I can!”_

“Oh my god,” James groans, putting his hands in front of his eyes. “I should not be watching this…”

Sam, too, averts his eyes. Clint, ever so faithful, endures it.

After a few more seconds of Steve pretending to have the time of his life, he suddenly sits up and shouts towards Tony.

“ _Just pull off that damn boot, Tony!”_

“What?” the three of them question simultaneously, and then the camera zooms out and reveals Tony standing on the other side holding Cap’s booted leg in his hands.

“ _You’re the super-soldier here! You should be able to pull off your own damn boot!”_

_“Every time I take it off I accidentally break it!”_

“Is this a joke?” James wonders. And eventually Tony manages to get the boot off, groaning out in relief.

“ _Finally! Can we now get that hot shower you promised me?”_

“ _Of course, dear,”_ Steve had responded, and then he stands up and joins Tony to the bathroom. After that, the shot changes. It’s indeed in the bathroom, and the shower is indeed running with the two men underneath it.

Only too bad because the glass is all fogged up and nobody’s able to see what’s going on behind the stall. Natasha remembers, when they’d been filming this, that the two had been wearing their swimming trunks.

And there they pretend to make some more groaning, enjoying themselves and whatnot. Not too much later Tony starts shouting that he has soap in his eyes. He runs out of the shower, revealing his swimming trunk to their three-person audience.

“Okay, this must be a joke, right?” Sam wonders in confusion. James shrugs, clearly not getting it, either. After that, the video moves to the last part of the dvd. Here they are back in the bedroom. Tony’s on his belly, clearly shirtless. He’s leaning on his elbows while he looks straight ahead.

“ _Oh my god, Tony,”_ comes off-screen, and Tony moves along. Then suddenly he looks behind him.

“ _You ever finishing there? I’m getting bored here.”_

_“But it’s just so good!”_

_“I can believe that, but while you’re doing your think I might just fall asleep on you.”_

“If this is legit, they’re about the least sexy couple in the world,” Clint mutters, clearly annoyed.

“ _I’ll hurry it up. You just said not to get into the bed with food.”_

 _“Because you should eat your food in the kitchen and not in our bedroom, Captain Smartpants,”_ Tony turns around at last, and the camera turns to show Steve on the other side of the room finishing up a cookie. The three men sigh and slap their forehead.

“Okay so now we know even less, _and_ we’ve been pranked, right?” Sam asks. Natasha finally bursts out laughing, putting her hand on her stomach while tears form in her eyes. The three men give her a glare, and as if on cue Steve and Tony walk back into the room.

“I knew you guys were crazy, but this really exceeds all my expectations,” Tony tells them, with eyebrows raised, clearly unimpressed by what’s just happened here. Natasha stands up from her spot on the couch. “You were actually going to _watch_ a sex-tape of Steve and me?!”

“We were just trying to prove a point,” Clint defends himself while crossing his arms.

“Ever thought about the fact that maybe it’s none of your fucking business?”

“You’re right,” Sam admits. “It wasn’t cool of us…”

“No, no way! After everything, I think you owe us _something_! I mean, seriously, is it really _that_ big a deal?” Clint gets up from his seat, his hands balled into fists. “You talked about your sex-life _all the time_ back when you were still with Pepper, and we had to constantly hear it. You could at least indulge us so I can collect my money.”

Tony raises another eyebrow, and Natasha waits for a few seconds, wondering what he’s going to do now. Is he going to tell it anyway? Is he going to refuse?

“You really want to know?” Tony asks then. “You want to know how, in the evening, one of us gets into the room, giving each other a look? A look that says it all? You want to know how, right before we go to bed, on the moment that I’m about to put on my pajamas, Steve touches my shoulder, turns me around, starts kissing me right here?” Tony points up to his lips.

Natasha sees what he’s doing here. It’s smart, but on the other hand it’s also extremely uncomfortable. It’s obvious enough in everybody else’s faces. Steve looks red, again. James is looking at his hands, Sam is looking at the ground. Only Clint holds on to the eye contact.

“You want to know how he slowly comes up to me, pulls my shirt back over my head again while subtly letting his fingers travel all over my chest? How he lies down on the bed, pulling me along? Giving me that smile with those perfect lips of his? Telling me he loves me? Me telling him I love him? How I slowly go down with my hand on his stomach, getting lower and lower until I grab his di-“

“OH FOR CRYING OUT LOUD, WE TAKE TURNS ALRIGHT?!” Steve suddenly shouts, his face looking like he’s about to explode on the spot. There’s a total silence in the room after this, everybody looking at Steve with a confused, shocked expression.

It takes a few seconds before Steve realizes what he just said. His hands go up to his mouth, looking like he’s ready to take back the words. Natasha clears her throat again, trying to at least make a _little_ sound.

“Wow, uh…” Sam mutters out. James nods in agreement of the awkwardness. “Who won, then?”

“I guess we both did?” Clint offers. Natasha rolls her eyes, flicking all three of them over the head.

She guesses none of them will actually grow up one day. Eventually, she nods towards Steve, who nods in return. Then the two of them get out of the kitchen, clearly tired of the awkwardness in the room. They need a good sparring after this.

Besides, they don’t need to see her smugness over the fact that she was right all along.  


	12. Of Our Own

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony catches Steve by surprise when he admits to wanting to have kids of their own.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's a short one. Caspinn and I came up with it a while back when we were discussing baby-names for Yaël's kid.  
> As for the kid's deal; it's all part of Yaël's story and will be explained there. Just know that at one point there's a baby and it gets a reaction out of Tony and Steve. 
> 
> I wanted to share this one already, because the issue will be often brought up in the second part of the story. I'm sorry if it's a bit... short, and maybe sudden.

There are a few things in life that Tony Stark can appreciate. Sleeping in with Steve is probably on top of that list along with spending quality time with Peter. Other than that, it can be a hot cup of coffee, good sex and having his friends alive and well.

A lot has happened in these past few months. A lot of things he’s ready to forget if it’s ever possible. He has nightmares that chase him, images that will never ever leave his mind. But for now, he has in under control.

They’re in the tower today. Peter isn’t home, at his aunt’s for the week-end. That means that, for two whole days they have the whole place for themselves. Where Peter then expects them to spend the whole day naked in bed, Tony has other things planned for the day.

Getting the movie ready to play, Tony waits on the couch for Steve to arrive. For just a few seconds, he closes his eyes, enjoying the alone-time they’re given.

“Tony, I need to get to the compound!”

Wait, what?

Tony opens up his eyes again, turning towards Steve who is standing behind the couch, looking a bit distressed.

“I forgot my sketchbook in the gym! I need it!”

“Can’t you just get it tomorrow, babe? I thought we were going to see a movie?”

“I know! But I don’t like the idea of my sketchbook staying there with the bird-twins wandering around there!”

Tony rolls his eyes, putting his bowl of popcorn aside and getting off his ass.

“Fine, wouldn’t want all those half-naked drawings of me to end up with mustaches- oh, wait…”

Steve rolls his eyes at that. “You’re hilarious,” he mutters, then grabbing Tony’s hand. “Come on, if we hurry, we’ll be back quickly and then we can watch the movie.”

Tony gives him an unimpressed look before grinning again, leaning forward to kiss him. Before he can reach, Steve steps aside, pulling him along to get him out of the penthouse.

“And why exactly do you need me to come along?” Tony asks after Steve hands him the helmet for his motorcycle. Tony gives it a long look before putting it on, a bit smug about the Captain America pattern drawn on it. Meanwhile, Steve takes out one, but Iron Man-themed instead.

“Because I like having you near?” Steve tries hopefully. Tony shakes his head, leaning forward until his helmet bumps against Steve.

“Planning on making it up to me after this?” he asks, letting his hand glide over Steve’s chest, smirking underneath the helmet. Steve clears his throat while starting up the bike.

“Everything you want, my dear,” Steve responds, pulling Tony’s hand back up when it starts lowering down. Tony snorts, holding on to Steve the moment he starts driving. They exit the garage fairly quickly, entering into a New York illuminated by the light of the sunset. Tony sighs while resting his head against Steve’s back, looking at the sky around him. Seeing this, who could possibly tell that there’s more out there? Other planets, galaxies… things that want to kill them…

Tony used to have a bike like this, back in his rebellious years. Or, uh, well, his _most_ rebellious years. He remembers driving it all around town, picking up girls and impressing his friends. He wonders what became of that bike, not even remembering if he ever sold it or anything. Probably his father got rid of it while Tony was partying all night long.

They arrive at the compound in about twenty minutes. Tony stretches his back the moment he’s back on his feet, handing Steve back the helmet. He doesn’t put it away, instead hanging them on the steer. Then he hurries towards the door, motioning for Tony to follow him.

While Steve gets to the gym, Tony decides to head to the common room. Maybe there’s somebody there he can say hello to. There’s no door, just the opening – Vision accidentally pulled it out when he was trying to use it for a change – so Tony wanders in easily, without any warning. On first glance, there doesn’t seem to be anybody in here.

But then he hears that ever so quiet sound, from over the couch. Tony walks up, a bit curious as to what it could be. When his phone buzzes in the pocket of his pants, he takes a quick look. It’s Peter, telling him he’s going to the movies tonight with May. Tony wishes them a lot of fun in a quick reply.

In the couch, there’s Peter’s friend Yaël, looking like she’s completely out of the world. He shouldn’t be confused she’s here, since she’s been living here for the past few weeks. Despite that, he hasn’t been seeing much of her, given to the fact that he isn’t always in the compound.

Next to the couch, there’s the source of the noise. Apparently, the girl has moved the crib for the baby out of her bedroom and brought it here. Surely aware that she would fall asleep on the spot. Tony decides not to wake her up, instead heading towards the fussing baby lying down. He’s not crying, rather just… kicking his legs, clearly done sleeping for the evening.

Tony looks at the child, still a bit surprised that it’s there. He doesn’t know the complete story about this child; to him it just seems like it was suddenly there. Sure, he was aware that the girl had turned out pregnant around the time of them changing the accords. As to who the father is, he’s learned not to ask questions anymore.

The child’s dark eyes look up towards Tony, noticing him looking. As if on instinct, he reaches out his hands, trying to touch Tony in his curiosity. Tony finds himself smiling before realizing it, reaching down in the crib and taking the kid out. For just a moment, he tries to remember what the boy is called…

Carefully, Tony lifts the boy to his height, seeing the baby giggle with a toothless grin. Just shortly, Tony feels a twitch of sadness at the idea that he never got to know Peter like this.

“Hello little man,” Tony whispers, not willing to wake up the boy’s mother. Carefully, he starts stepping aside, making sure that he’s a safe distance away from her.

The kid – Raido, Tony remembers, almost appears to fit perfectly in the crook of Tony’s elbow, almost as if that part of his body is just simply _made_ to hold a baby. Tony sighs a bit sadly, holding out a finger and letting Raido grab for it.

To be fair, Tony loves babies. Back when he had been with Pepper, almost at the beginning of their relationship, the thought of ever having children with her had been near to constant. But to be fair, his true knowledge of his paternal desire came to him the moment Peter came into his life. It was by then that he understood how much he loves being a father, having a kid to call his own.

If only he could go back in time, meet Peter back when he was about the same age Raido is now.

Tony sighs sadly, seeing the kid wrapping his little hands around Tony’s finger. At that moment, Steve decides to come back with his sketchbook in his hand. The moment he sees Tony standing there, holding a baby in his hands, he stands still, blinking a few times in surprise.

“Uh, what’s going on?” he asks, confused. Tony points towards the couch before putting his finger to his lip.

“Mommy’s asleep and somebody didn’t want to join her in dream-land,” Tony whispers before looking down again. Then he sighs. “Just imagine…”

“Imagine what?” Steve asks, pulling nervously at his sketchbook. Tony shrugs then again.

“Just… I don’t really dislike the thought of having one of those of our own, you know? I mean, not now, just… someday.”

“Oh…”

Tony frowns, looking back up towards Steve in confusion. Why does he sound so distant, as if he would rather just run away from here?

“Seriously, that’s all you have to say?” he finds himself snapping a bit, not believing he’s here talking his heart out and Steve is just waving it off like that.

“No, I mean, I understand. I just…” Steve hesitates, reaching up to scratch the back of his neck, seeming even more nervous than before. “I don’t really… _like_ children.”

Okay, no, wait a second. Rewind! Steve Rogers, aka Captain America, _doesn’t like_ kids? How is this possible?! Tony almost feels like a whole part of his life has been a lie all along, and he doesn’t know why. To be fair, Steve never really _said_ that he enjoyed hanging out with all these kids for those events. Sure, the children all love him, but Tony never really stood still about the fact that he might not particularly like them in return.

“So, uh… just babies in particular? Or children in general?” he tries for clarification. Steve shakes his head in return.

“Just in general, I guess. Having kids… sure, it was expected of people back in the day. Get married, have kids. I accepted the situation as it was. But now I just- it’s _not_ expected, you know?”

Tony nods, still feeling his heart break a little after hearing the words. Carefully he walks back to the crib where he puts Raido back down on his little mattress. The kid complains for a second before Tony pulls up a toy he found somewhere in the corner, and hands it to the boy.

“I’m not going to get angry, I just…” Tony rubs his forehead, turning back towards Steve with one hand on his hip. “Have you ever felt pressured into taking care of Peter?”

“What?!” Steve almost shouts. Yaël on the couch stirs a bit but doesn’t wake up. Good. “No! How could you even think that?!”

Tony shrugs. “I just… I don’t want you to take care of him out of some sense of duty towards me,” he admits.

Steve sighs, walking towards Tony and grabbing him by the arms. Then he leans forward, catching Tony’s attention.

“I love Peter. If anything, I feel like he’s my son as well,” he assures Tony. “The only reason I’ve been taking care of Peter is because I want to, not out of some sense of duty.”

Tony nods, leaning forward until his head is resting against Steve’s chest. At least he has that to work with, right? He lets out a small sigh before pulling away, wrapping an arm around Steve’s waist.

“Let’s just go home, alright?” he offers. He’s not in the mood to talk about this right now. Probably never. But it’s alright, he thinks. Steve might not want kids, but they already have the best son in the world. He guesses he’s pretty lucky already.

“You okay?” Steve asks, a bit worried. Tony shrugs.

“I’m fine,” he assures him. “As long as I have you, Peter and my friends I have everything I need.” He gives Steve a smile, puts his head against Steve’s shoulder and then pulls him towards the door opening. Sure this sucks, but he’ll bite through this. At least for now.

Still, he knows well enough that this could be a problem for later...


	13. For the Best

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pepper figures out some stuff and has to make a decision.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have this list of timestamps I need to make. I have made a title for each and every one of them in the document that holds the story. Yet, all that seems to come out are these random things that come up to me at the most randome times in my day.   
> Anyway, here's a bit of Pepper. It's short, not really contributing to anything.

When Pepper Potts started working for Tony Stark, she never expected to ever end up in a serious relationship with him. To be fair, Tony Stark must be one of the most arrogant, self-centered and egoistical persons she’s ever met before. Or, he was at first. After Afghanistan, something changed in him. Something that made Pepper look at him in a whole other light.

Sure, he was still a jackass most of the time, but after what happened, he started caring for the world around him. And Pepper never admitted how she was secretly glad that he shut down the weapons’ manufacturing. She wouldn’t, after he left her at that party. Sure, okay, Tony realized Obie had been doing some shady stuff and he had to ask beforehand, but was it really that hard to just let her know he wouldn’t be back?

Anyway, that’s in the past. Eventually, Ivan Vanko happened. Pepper went from personal assistant to CEO of Stark Industries along with Tony Stark’s girlfriend, aka the only one who can kind of keep him in check. And it worked for a little while. But then the invasion happened, the Avengers started moving him. And Pepper didn’t mind at all. She rather enjoys her conversations with Bruce, or her discussions with Clint. And sure, she has trouble trusting Natasha after that whole Natalie-business, but she’s still kind of fun to hang out with.

But Christmas-time, she and Tony decided to spend at the mansion in Malibu. That never happened, of course, as she ended up with a literal smoking-hot body, using one of Tony’s suits to finally put an end to Aldrich Killian. Tony got rid of the Arc Reactor, decided to get some help for his panic attacks. Things went better. When they came back to New York, they learned Thor had some mission of his own in Greenwich, and then Natasha left again, joining Steve in Washington where they were doing their own SHIELD-mission.

She figures, the first strain on their relationship must have been the Ultron-disaster. They had a fight about it, before everything went down. Tony blew up all the suits, Pepper thought their lives could finally get a little bit back to normal. But she should have known Tony couldn’t let go of Iron Man. She should have known that he would want to join his teammates on their mission to take care of HYDRA, and their pursuit for the scepter. Thor came back, and gone they were.

Pepper had left the tower after that, going back to the newly-rebuilt Mansion in Malibu. Happy stayed with her, per Tony’s request partly, but also because he’s now Pepper’s head of security.

She doesn’t know what happened in Sokovia. Tony came back changed, probably realizing he was in a big part the cause of all that destruction in that little country. The Avengers had left for the compound, Thor was back in Asgard or where-ever else in space, and Avengers Tower slowly but surely started to change back into Stark Tower.

Pepper didn’t mind. Tony was back, and for now the relationship seemed stronger than ever. So they went to galas, had interviews. They even allowed in a TV-show that take a look at celebrities’ self-designed houses. Pepper saved that episode, unbelieving of how happy she was having Tony back with her.

She barely went to the compound. It wasn’t her world. It could be if she would give it a chance, but she knows not to get into it. She won’t be able to climb back out. It’s a promise she made to herself years ago.

Though the few times she went to the compound, it was to accompany Tony. Despite the fact that he’s no longer an active member of the Avengers, Tony still provides for them. Making sure that they have everything they need and the place hasn’t burned to the ground yet, Tony pays his random little visits that never last longer than an hour. To Pepper, it’s always funny to see his interactions with the people of the team. With Rhodey, for instance, it’s obvious they act the way they’ve always done.

“How’s the world smartest idiot doing?” Rhodey asks.

“I don’t know, how are you?” Tony returns playfully. “Oh, and by the way, I brought some upgrades along.”

It’s a thing he does. Every time he comes, the members of the Avengers can expect some sort of upgrade to their armor, gadgets or weapons.

“Is it an AI? I know you don’t want to share FRIDAY, but I can be happy with WEDNESDAY as well, though maybe slightly less gloomy.”

Pepper laughs. Rhodey gives her a greeting hug when he finally turns to her. She kisses his cheek. Tony never minds; the guy is part of the family, after all.

But after Rhodey, there’s more of them. Tony and Wanda together is difficult. She nods at him, clearly uncomfortable at having to be friendly to him after all those years of hatred. Tony says that he doesn’t take it personally, but Pepper knows he does.

“Mr. Stark, Ms. Potts,” the Vision greets, startling Pepper every time again when JARVIS’ voice blooms up out of the android.

“Viz, you know you can call me ‘Dad’ if you want to,” Tony jokes, slapping the guy gently on the shoulder, but only getting a confused look in return.

“I’m afraid I don’t completely understand. We’re not really related, are we?”

“JARVIS might as well have been my son. And you are JARVIS, kind off. Ergo, you are kind of my son, no?”

“Shut up, Tony,” Pepper says, resting a hand over her eyes as she notices Vision’s growing confusion. She looks at him apologetically. “I’m sorry, just ignore him. He’s being annoying.”

“Very well,” Vision returns. After that he flies off. Tony’s playful grin disappears slightly before reappearing, though clearly less convincing. Pepper knows what losing JARVIS did to him. But given the circumstances, nobody has really given Tony the time to grieve. Actual people were dying, after all; how could Tony mourn the death of his AI?

Pepper feels sad that none of the Avengers seem to understand Tony as much as she does. When she notices his slight discomfort, she reaches out to take his hand into hers, kissing his knuckles in reassurance. Tony gives her a sad smile. Of course, he’s told her everything about it. Who else would listen to him other than her and Rhodey?

Pepper sighs as Tony walks forward. There’s a greeting for Clint (“Hey birdbrain.”), followed by Sam (“Hola Birdbrain two-point-oh.”), to which he gets flipped off for by both men. Natasha simply nods at him.

“Stark,” she says. When she stands still in front of him. “Pepper,” she continues when she realizes Pepper is here as well.

“Natasha,” Pepper returns politely.

“I’ve got some prototypes for you to look over. The design isn’t ready, but their function is so you can test it out and we can make it matching to your suit, what do you think?”

Tony rattles on while handing Natasha a couple of things he takes out of his suitcase.

“Of course. By the way, Steve wanted to see you,” Natasha says while taking Tony’s prototypes. Pepper notices immediately how Tony jumps up after she’s spoken.

To be fair, she’s aware that Tony never really got along with Steve. It’s partly because their personalities just clash, but also because of the way Tony has been raised. Thinking himself undeserving of Steve’s friendship, things have been tense, to say the least.

It’s like something changed, though. After the Ultron-disaster… Pepper can’t explain it. While she would have expected everybody to be angry at Tony (and Bruce) for creating a murdering robot off to kill the world, it seems like they’re all just… keeping friendly? It’s especially noticeable with Steve, though that one has been subtle for Pepper. While Tony barely brings up Steve, she did notice that, without their knowing, he’d shifted from ‘Rogers’ to ‘Steve’.

“He did? What did he want?” Tony asks, surprised by Natasha’s reveal. Pepper sees the spy shrug, clearly disinterested about it.

“I don’t know. I don’t care. Just make sure to see him before you head out. He’s in the workshop,” she tells him before taking her stuff and heading out into a hallway. Where it leads to, Pepper has no idea. While she and Tony designed the tower together, she never really had (or wanted) any say in the compound.

“C’mon, let’s see what he wants,” Tony says while taking Pepper’s hand into his own again. She has no idea where Tony’s heading to, but she guesses it’s the workshop Steve is at. It makes sense to find him, though; he’s the last of the Avengers they have to greet.

Of course it’s Steve…

“Oh Captain, my captain, is there something you wanted to ask humble little old me?” Tony asks the moment he’s through the door. He probably doesn’t even notice letting go of Pepper’s hand while he approaches Steve.

“Tony, yeah! Rhodey said you were here and I wanted to add some suggestions to the suit,” Steve says. “Hello, Pepper.”

As always, he’s so friendly. It makes it even worse, bringing a giant wave of guilt over her.

“Steve,” she returns shortly before sitting down on the couch and taking out her cellphone to pretend and read a few messages. She figures it’ll be a while before they head out.

“Show me those drawings,” Tony says, taking the pieces of paper Steve hands him and giving them a look. “You know it’s illegal; you’re like the most beautiful man on Earth, the kindest, super strong _and_ you can draw like this just from memory? Such unfair.”

Steve just laughs uncertainly, passing a hand through his hair. Pepper doesn’t fail to notice the reddened cheeks he’s sporting.

She can’t hate Steve; he _is_ the kindest man on Earth. He’s an Angel, hidden in a human body. He would give up his own life if it would save another. He would constantly offer his help, even though he knows nothing on the subject.

But he’s also in love with her boyfriend. Which is why it’s difficult not to hate him at least a little bit.

She knows Steve would never do anything. He’s never been anything but kid towards Pepper, and he clearly doesn’t look like the kind of guy that would just go and steal boyfriends. But Pepper’s territorial, and Steve having a secret crush on her man… it eats her up inside a little bit.

Of course, Tony is Tony. He wouldn’t recognize somebody being in love with him unless they’d tell him specifically, and even then he wouldn’t believe it until it’s said at least a hundred times.

“Stop doing that,” Steve tells Tony, embarrassed by the things he just said. Tony smirks only in return.

“Stop doing what? Telling the truth? I thought you were all about the truth?” Tony asks him. Pepper wants to roll her eyes, let out an annoyed sigh, but she holds it in. She’s not weak, she can handle a few minutes of these two.

“Just tell me if you can make this or not?”

Tony gasps in horror. “Steve, you’re insulting me,” he says, putting a hand on his chest. “You’ll have it by tomorrow.”

“You don’t have to do it so soon, I’m sure you have plans with Pepper,” Steve assures him.

 _Yes, we do,_ she wants to say. She can’t even open her mouth.

“No, it’s fine, Pepper doesn’t mind, do you Honey?”

She looks up, mouth dropped open in surprise. Steve blinks in confusion when he sees her reaction.

Then she lets out a long breath and looks back down to her phone.

“You do whatever you want, Tony,” she says, though still extremely disappointed he seems to have forgotten their date tonight. Again.

It’s not the only occasion this happens. There are moment with Tony where Pepper’s just about ready to smash her face against the wall. When they’re lying in bed, Pepper about ready to have some fun but only to find out Tony needs to finish some more projects for the Avengers, or more specifically; Steve.

It happens when they’re in the car, on their way to the mansion in Malibu, and Tony can’t seem to stop talking about this new, stronger magnet he made for Steve. Or the sketch he made of all the Avengers, and how he’s going to buy them from the guy and hang them up all over the tower.

Pepper bites through it, tells herself it’s going to pass, that Tony’s just enthusiastic about his childhood idol and him finally getting along. She even talks to Rhodey about it, notices Natasha giving her knowing looks whenever she’s around the compound – however sporadically that is.

They don’t have sex anymore. Tony’s always in the workshop, and whenever he comes to bed, Pepper’s already asleep or about to get up to get to work. He doesn’t hold her anymore when they lie in bed together, doesn’t talk about his day the way he used to.

He tells her he loves her. It’s an automatic response. She stops saying it after a while.

She knows Tony realizes there’s something not really right in the situation. He often asks if Pepper’s alright, if there’s something wrong. She assures him she’s fine, telling herself that she’s just blowing things out of proportion.

But when she sees Tony smile the way he does while he’s having a call with Steve, she figures it’s better this way. They’re not happy like this. It hurts to admit, it hurts _so_ much, but the truth is there; Tony might love her, but she’s not the one he wants.

So Pepper tells him she wants to talk. And Tony avoids coming to the tower until the very last moment.

And she knows, the Christmas of that same year, as she sees Tony in Steve’s embrace with Peter standing next to them, that she made the right decision.


	14. Aunty Nat is in a club

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter thinks he's broken. When Steve and Tony feel out of their debt here, they ask Natasha for help, instead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a quick thing I had in my mind. I indicated in Something About Peter that Peter might not be so extremely comfortable around the idea of sex, and in combination with his lost memories of him and Felicia, Peter's not really dealing with it well. I think Natasha will gladly take on the roll of aunty-spider and help her little nephew through his crisis!

To be completely fair, Peter doesn’t just react the way he does because they’re practically his parents. He’s only just walking into the penthouse when he hears some sort of crash, and two people sounding an awful lot like Steve and Tony laughing.

“Hello?” Peter asks. The laughing stops, and immediately there’s fast shuffling noises until suddenly a bare-chested Steve jumps up from behind the couch, looking red all over his face.

“Peter! Hi! Uh, hi! Hello! Good evening! We did- We didn’t know you were coming today?” he stutters out.

Peter frowns for a short second before groaning out in disgust, shielding his eyes the moment Tony jumps up as well, holding a pillow in front of his… junk…

“Come on, the _couch_? Seriously?!” he complains, turning around a little bit to avert his eyes.

“Peter, I know this is kind of awkward, but… uh… it’s not really that unusual for us to, you know, have some fun, right?” Tony scratches his head, while Steve scratches his beard. The two make a lot of effort not to let their eyes meet Peter’s.

“You two are like rabbits! It’s like I always seem to find you like this whenever I enter a room…”

“Peter, now you’re just being overdramatic,” Tony mutters. Steve just frowns, clearly extremely uncomfortable about this entire thing.

“Oh, what about the time I found you in the lab? Or that one time you left the bathroom unlocked? Even on the damn balcony, guys! The training room, your office, the freaking garage... It’s not normal anymore!” Peter can’t help but feeling extremely annoyed. He knows it’s normal that they like to have some fun, but he just can’t help it. Even the thought of it annoys him a whole lot.

And sure, Peter’s had sex before. With Gwen, they’d gone all the way, one particular evening, and sure it had been fun for a little bit, but… Peter doesn’t _need_ it. He never really did.

After that whole experience with Venom, and Felicia… Peter’s pretty sure he doesn’t really _want_ it anymore, either. Having lost all control over his body in that time made him realize once more that he only did these things because it was kind of expected of him.

He doesn’t regret sleeping with Gwen. He’s glad he got to experience that with her, that he got to give her that bit of him. He loved her enough to do it. He loved her to a point where he would gladly do it again.

But with any other person… he doesn’t. And when he saw the footage of himself with Felicia, things he didn’t remember even doing… Peter can’t help but feel disgusted at every bit of it that reminds him of… sex. Damnit…

Tony, though… Peter knows Tony has a very active… life like _that_. And Steve obviously has no objection against it, since they both seem to like to use sex as a form of blackmail to each other. More often than not. Sometimes, Peter wonders who is really the adult of them all?

“I don’t think the two of you will ever really understand it,” Peter sighs. “But it’s okay… I guess I’m just the broken one.”

Tony looks sad all of the sudden, but it’s Steve who speaks.

“Peter, you’re not broken at all,” Steve starts. Peter just shrugs.

“It’s alright. I’m surely just overreacting like you said,” he returns, turning back towards the door.

“Peter, you’re leaving again?” Tony asks, hurt and worry obvious in his voice. Peter looks back at him, giving him a light smile.

“I’ll be back,” he assures them. “Just going out for a walk, you two just… do whatever you need to do. But… please, buy a new couch afterwards.”

Neither of them says anything as Peter closes the door behind him.

It might actually be true; he could just be exaggerating right now. Is it really that big of a deal? Sure, the whole world seems to revolve about sex, but it can’t be that bad, right?

But as Peter turns his head, an old, withered poster of the last Fifty Shades of whatever color they were going for in the last movie is still trying its best to keep on hanging against the wall. He gives it a short look, not at all seeing the appeal for it.

He scoffs, puts his hands in the pocket of his hoodie, and keeps on walking.

It’s all around him, though. On his left a lingerie-store where he sees some men looking. On his right a news stand where he can catch a glimpse of a few magazines that should not be seen by children. There’s even a badly hidden sex-store somewhere around there, where he sees a young couple walking inside, giggling with their hands locked.

He rolls his eyes, trying to ignore it. But as it is, it’s all around him. People making out in the middle of the street. Magazines, posters, books. The movies, TV-shows… It always over-glorifies it in a way that Peter would never really comprehend…

Peter needs some distraction. He decides to go to the movies, watch something that seems fun enough. When he finds, much to his surprise, that there’s an autobiographical movie about Tony Stark, he doesn’t hesitate.

But even that movie portrays his Dad the very way he used to be. And while it gets better in the ending, Peter still thinks it pretty much sucks in the beginning. Enough to make him want to walk out of the theater. Not only because of the sex-scenes, but mostly because of the fact that that actor is supposed to be portraying his Dad being in very… creative positions with other women.

He’s just being overdramatic.

After staying away for almost five hours, Peter decides to just head back. He’s tired, he just wants to go to sleep, go back to a day where his biggest worry was needing enough points to succeed his classes. Things were pretty fun back then, if you count out the beatings Harry gave him during that time.

Peter goes up into the elevator, leaning against the side with his forehead against the mirror. Shit, this is not how he intended his day to go.

Once he’s upstairs, in the penthouse, the first thing he notices is the new couch on the place where the old one used to be. It’s a large, white thing that will surely only need five seconds before it’s completely dirty again. A serious miss-buy from Tony, if Peter must be honest.

But, the idea that they bought a new couch just because they kind of scarred him a few hours earlier, and even had it freaking delivered to the penthouse before Peter even got home… It’s crazy, and it reminds him that, even though they don’t always _understand_ him, they still _care_ for him.

“Good evening, Peter,” a voice suddenly says. Peter jumps up, not at all having noticed that somebody was already sitting on the second couch. It’s the same one as the first but a bit smaller, meant for two people instead of three.

“Natasha?” Peter asks in confusion. The penthouse is obviously empty beside for them two, which is weird on its own since Natasha wouldn’t just come here to chill; she’s got her own apartment two floors down for that. “What’re- what- uh- what are you doing here?”

“I heard your parents were gross again?” she says sympathetic. She pats the couch then, giving it a pensive look. “I kind of like this couch. It’s soft.”

“It’s white,” Peter counters.

“We can give it a paint job,” Natasha returns before looking back up at him. Her gaze is serious, her green eyes focused on him.

“So, what, you came here to rip them a new one?” Peter asks. He starts walking forward towards the couch, dropping down on the three-sit. He’s not too surprised that it’s actually very comfortable. All too aware of Natasha staring him down, Peter clears his throat again.

“You told your dads you’re ‘ _broken’_?” Natasha asks with her arms crossed, her eyes serious. Peter shrugs.

“I don’t know,” he mutters out. “It never really was such a big deal before, but now…”

Natasha doesn’t say anything, instead just keeping her gaze on him with a blunt look on her face. It’s like she’s studying him, waiting for him to say anything on his own accord.

“Stop staring like that,” Peter mutters. Natasha raises her eyebrows and suddenly stands up, putting her hands on her hips.

“So you hate sex. Big deal,” she says like it’s indeed not that big of a deal. Peter’s mouth falls open, eyes wide, at the flippant way she just seems to dismiss his problem.

“Big deal?! When the whole world seems to revolve around sex, I think it’s a pretty big deal, yeah…” Peter throws his head back against the couch, looking at the ceiling with a defeated look on his face.

“It’s not that abnormal, kid,” Nat then says. She walks up to the windows, looking down at the city underneath them. “When I was raised as the assassin that I was I… they taught me to use sex as a tool. Many of my peers liked it enough because they got at least a little bit of pleasure out of it.”

Peter presses his lips together. He never really heard Natasha talk about her past. The only one really knowing about it being Bucky, who was there, and Tony who got to read her files but never shared what he actually read out of respect for her.

“I hated it. No matter who it was I was sleeping with. Even with James, I hated it more often than not.” Natasha looks up at the sky, though not walking away from the window. Peter notices her red hair, put up in a messy bun that would make every prima ballerina cringe. “There were a very few occasions where I got to enjoy it a bit more. Not often, just… rarely.”

Peter nods, glad that she feels comfortable enough to share this bit of information with him. She trusts him. That doesn’t come easy for her, he figures.

“I never put a name on it. I just figured I was… _broken_ , like you said. Because James seemed to love it. _Crave it_ , even. It’s only since recently that I’ve figured out there are more people like us around.”

“Like us?” Peter asks. Natasha then finally turns around, giving him a sly smile. Then she nods towards the door.

“C’mon, we’re going on a little field trip,” she says. “Take your coat.”

Peter jumps up from the couch. He hurries after her, ignoring the shoe-stain he already made on the leather by doing so.

Natasha is quiet most of the way. She just has her arm crossed into Peter’s, but her hands in the pockets of her coat. They look like quite the weird pair, since she’s obviously older than he is. Peter shudders at the thought of people thinking they would be together. Nat has become some sort of Aunt to him, in a way. It would feel extremely weird to think anything else about it.

Natasha makes them go completely on foot. Since it’s December right now, it’s cold, at the verge of snowing. Despite it not being _that_ late, it’s still extremely dark outside.

“Nat, where are we going?” Peter tries to ask.

“You’ll see,” she says mysteriously. She pulls him along, making them walk for almost thirty minutes until they get to some sort of café. There she unhooks her arm from Peter’s and opens the door for him. “Get in.”

Peter obeys, allowing Natasha to guide him to where he needs to go. When she points to a whole group of people sitting there, looking deep into discussion, he frowns.

“Who are they?” he asks. Natasha smirks.

“Just some friends,” she says. She waves when one of the group looks up and notices them. Then, suddenly, everybody turns to them, all wearing big smiles on their faces and waving at Peter as if they’ve known him their entire life.

“Natasha, it’s good to see you,” the woman closest to them says. Where Peter would have imagined a welcome-hug, nobody really seems to move to initiate it. Even weirder, it feels completely normal not to hug each other as a greeting.

“Guys, this is my nephew Peter,” Natasha greets with a fond smile, and Peter feels a warm feeling upon hearing ‘nephew’ coming out of Natasha’s mouth. “He needs to learn.”

Everybody’s eyes go wide. Even the youngest person in the group, a girl about Peter’s age, looks surprised at that. He can understand it; he’s an outsider, in a way, no?

“You’re the nephew?” one of them suddenly says. Or, they could just be surprised that they finally get to meet him. Jesus, has Natasha been telling so much about him. Peter leans towards her.

“What have you been saying about me?” Peter whispers to her. Natasha sorts, whispering back.

“I said that I didn’t know you for too long, but if anything would have happened to you I would kill everybody in the room and then myself.”

Peter pauses for a moment. “Have you been watching Brooklyn Nine Nine?” he asks. Natasha just smirks but doesn’t say anything in return.

She pulls Peter by the arm, forcing him to sit down next to her while all these other people just keep looking at him with wide smiles on their faces.

As it turns out, they’re some sort of small community, or so they say. It’s something Peter hasn’t heard of before, and most of them admitted that they were surprised Peter hadn’t found anything about it on the internet.

But, to be fair, Peter never really looked it up on the internet. Self-diagnosing is the worst thing a person could do, after all.

“So, you _all_ don’t like sex?” Peter asks after they’ve finished explaining. He turns towards Nat, searching for confirmation.

“No, that’s not what this is all about,” a woman returns. Peter remembers her introducing herself as Heather a little bit earlier. She looks around Natasha’s age, with blonde hair that is put up in a loose tail and brown eyes that give him a kind look. “There are a few of us that _do_ enjoy having sex. Terrence here, for instance. Or Mathilda, too.” At that, Heather points towards two people who wave up their hand to remind Peter of who she’s talking about.

“But… I don’t get it, I think…”

“Enjoying sex and having sexual attraction are two completely different things,” Natasha says calmly, and the others nod. “Mathilda and Terrence do not feel any attraction towards others, but they don’t mind having sex, since they enjoy it pretty much. But then there are people like me and a lot of others who _don’t_ like it.”

“There are a whole lot of sub-classifications in our spectrum,” the young girl of Peter’s age – surprisingly enough, her name is Petra – says. Peter blinks in confusion. Should he look it up, perhaps? But what would he need to look up, in that case?

“Yeah, there are the sex-positive asexuals,” Heather adds. “Then there’s the antisexuals like your Aunt here.”

Peter turns towards Natasha, who nods.

“There’s demisexuals, which is what I am,” Petra says, pointing towards herself. “We do not feel any attraction until a strong emotional connection is built with our partner.”

“Grays,” another guy says, holding his hand up. “On rare occasions do we feel attraction, but even if we do we don’t always act on them. It’s more at random rather than having to form a sexual bond.”

Peter nods. He thinks he understands it a bit.

There he learns about Litiosexuals (experiences attraction but doesn’t want it reciprocated, or not wanting to be on the receiving end of sexual contact), apothisexual (not experiencing attraction at all, repulsed by even the idea of it. Three people, including Nat held up their hand at that), Fraysexual (Feeling attraction towards strangers but having it fade once they get to know them – nobody holds up their hand), Cupiosexual (wanting a sexual relationship but not experiencing the attraction), and more things like autochorisexuals, placiosexuals and abrosexuals.

It’s a whole lot of information coming Peter’s way, but he knows he’s smart. It’s not that hard to figure it out, though mostly the names all just sound like gibberish in his head.

“But… where would I place myself, then?” Peter asks, feeling a bit out of his debt here.

“That depends, which one you identify with the most?” Natasha asks. Peter frowns, thinking back of what they all just explained to him.

At first he would say he’d go with the apothis, like Natasha, mostly because of his repulsive reaction towards sex in the past few months. But… he figures that’s not extremely correct, neither. He _did_ enjoy it with Gwen, that time. He had loved her, and as they slept together, Peter can’t say that he regrets it.

And sure, his medication in the past managed to make him feel a bit… ‘horny’ on some unfortunate occasions, but never really has that been directed at somebody. He mostly just took care of it on his own and never made a big deal out of it.

“Demi, I think,” Peter mutters. Petra smiles and reaches out her hand to put on his, giving him a reassuring squeeze in the fingers.

“It’s alright if you’re not sure right away! It’s a whole lot of information and I’m sure your head is going in overdrive.”

Peter shrugs in return. “Not really”, he mutters. His brain has been doing worse on the matter of ‘going overdrive’. This right here is not _that_ bad, really. Instead he leans back in his seat, his hand holding the now-empty mug that had contained a cappuccino Natasha bought for him (Peter forgot his wallet in the tower…)

His phone starts ringing in his pocket. Peter quickly fishes it out, finding that his Dad is trying to reach him. Slowly, he gets on his feet, indicating to the others that he needs to take this call.

“Hello?” he asks once he picks up, making his way out of the café. He curses himself already for forgetting his coat inside.

“ _Peter? I thought you would come back home? Is everything alright?”_

Peter chuckles a bit. “I’m fine,” he says. “Nat took me out.”

“ _Oh, you’re still with her. Do you need for me to pick you two up?”_

Peter turns back to the café, seeing the people inside laugh at some sort of joke somebody said. Even Natasha is smirking a bit, though she rarely laughs fully, even with the Avengers.

“No, I don’t think that’s necessary,” he says. “Thank you, though.”

“ _Don’t thank me, Peter. We feel terrible. We didn’t know it was bothering you this much…”_

Peter sighs, then. They shouldn’t feel guilty about that; they couldn’t know, after all. It’s not like Peter ever really spoke about it.

“I know this wasn’t exactly something you or Steve could help me with,” Peter returns. He clicks his tongue while thinking about his words. “And you both seem to know that, otherwise you wouldn’t have involved Nat.”

“ _She knows about this stuff better than we do,”_ Tony admits. “ _Just, when you get back here… you can explain it to us if you want to. We’d both like to understand it, so we can help you…”_

“Thanks, Dad,” Peter returns. He clears his throat, looking down at his feet. There, he notices the first snowflake starting to fall down. The breath in front of him forms its usual cloud, and his lips curl up in a light smile. “You know I’m not angry at you, right?”

“ _I know, though I would understand it if you were.”_

Another chuckle escapes his mouth. Peter takes another deep breath. “Can you tell Steve that everything’s fine?”

“ _He already knows,”_ Tony returns. “ _He’s brushing his teeth, which is why he hasn’t said anything.”_

There’s a spitting noise in the background. Then Steve’s voice comes up. “ _Hey, sport, I’m here.”_

“Hi, Steve,” Peter returns. “Listen, Nat and I had about half an hour of walking to get here. If you two need to… do whatever you need to do, you’ve still got time.”

Oh, yeah, he can joke now. Because his parents are human, still – Peter is, too; he’s just a bit different from them.

“ _Nah, I think we’ve had enough,”_ Steve says. In the background, he can hear Tony say ‘ _what_?’ in confusion. There’s some mumbling that he can’t really focus on.

“Right, well, it’s freezing and snowing, and I left my coat inside. I’ll see you guys tomorrow? Don’t wait up for me.”

“ _Alright, see you then. We love you.”_

“I love you, too,” he says, smiling despite his freezing face. Then he hangs up the phone and turns around, heading back into the café.

He’s got so many more things to learn, after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I got my information from here: https://www.wattpad.com/459697933-all-about-asexuality-different-kinds-of-asexuals


	15. Cap? Iron Man? Stark Junior?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony and Steve lose a bet, and they have to pay for it. Only, not with money...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This suddenl came to mind. Obviously I've taken inspiration to Tom Holland's lip sync battle.

 

“No way. Nu-uh, we are not doing _that_!”

It’s another eventful day in the tower. Granted, most of the Avengers have moved back to the compound, but it seems like it’s still their base for chilling on some occasions, which is why the penthouse is now currently filled with almost every member of the team, along with Peter, Harry and Johnny, who are holding their glasses of coke in their hands while they watch at what’s happening.

They’re smirking. Tony just knows it.

“No takebacks, a bet is a bet, and you lost it, so now you have to pay up.”

“Yeah, I would gladly pay up, how much do you want from me?” Tony mutters, pulling out his wallet from his back pocket. He doesn’t carry a lot of cash on him, but he’s got his cheques, which he can quickly write one of for him.

“We don’t want money,” Clint says, grin wide on his face. The others are laughing as well. Natasha is leaning against the counter, standing next to Bucky, who has his arm wrapped over her shoulder. They’re slowly becoming more and more affectionate, though they’re still keeping it subtle.

“We’re not doing the _other thing_ , either!”

It’s simple. They were given a challenge. A damn hard one, too. The rules were clear; he and Steve were to have at least a whole month without being caught having sex. It sounded so easy, too. Just make FRIDAY warn them up when somebody would come near, not doing it in special places in public, and just to be safe, only do it when there’s nobody home or when everybody’s sleeping.

Though they both had hoped that Peter wouldn’t betray them like that. Sadly, it seemed like he came home one day without warning them. And just as FRIDAY was warning them about his arrival, he’d already heard it. He’d already seen it, too. It’s not that hard if you’re trying to be risky and are going for some good make-out in the kitchen.

But yeah, their clothes were mostly off, and with Tony’s hand around Steve’s junk being the way Peter found them, it was obvious that they lost.

The worst part, he feels like FRIDAY had purposely not told them about Peter climbing up the building.

So now they have to pay. The problem is, the Avengers had never really told them how they were going to do that. They had just agreed not to be caught, or they’d had to do something in return that would no doubt be awkward for them.

“Yes, you are.”

“Guys, you can’t be serious,” Steve interjects with red cheeks. Yeah, he feels pretty embarrassed about it all, but that’s Steve for you. The only thing that makes this mostly horrible for Tony is the fact that their slightly sex-averse son had to find them in that position. And that after the whole demisexual-discussion they’ve had to completely understand how their son really worked.

“Why not?” Sam asks, poking Scott in the side who gets out a laugh as well.

“Because- uh… we’re public figures and- uh… it could make people wonder if they could take us seriously…”

Clint shakes his head, rolling his eyes. “Nu-uh, I think it would be great if the people would humanize us more, if anything.”

“Besides, do you think they’re taking you seriously with the ‘couple of the year’ thing going on?” Rhodey asks.

“The year is almost over,” Tony grunts back. “After that we’ll nominate Winterwidow over there.” Tony points at Natasha and Bucky, who are giving him a very unimpressed look.

“If you do that, nobody will ever find your body after we're through with you," Natasha says while looking at her nails.

Tony shudders, and so does Steve. The pair quickly give each other a look. Are they going to give in that easily? Are they surrendering just like that, without fighting for their dignity? Sure, it’s their own fault for going for a risky place to do their shit, but… Fuck this shit…

“Alright, fine,” Tony mutters. But still, Steve doesn’t seem on board.

“No,” he says sternly, putting his hands on his hips. Clint just snorts.

“Oh, dear Cap, I’m afraid you don’t really have a choice,” he says. Sam then holds up his phone, pointing it towards them. Tony there reads what seems like an email, confirming their sign-up. Shit, they already arranged it?

“Yeah, you are on next week. Better prepare something good,” Sam says. Then he, Clint and Scott start walking towards the elevator. But right as they pass Peter, Scott puts a hand on Peter’s shoulder.

“Oh, and you’re up, too.”

“Wha- ME?! I didn’t do anything!” Peter says, jumping off his chair and stuttering through his words.

“You’re a snitch, and nobody likes snitches,” he says with a wink. Then the three walk out of the room, followed by Bucky who hurries after them. That little team there is just full of evil plans, and Tony’s sure he doesn’t want any part of that.

“But I-?” Peter can’t finish any sort of sentence. He gets a supportive pat on the shoulder from Harry, who seems to find all of this hilarious.

“It’s alright, Peter.”

“But- nobody knows me? Why would they take me?”

Everybody raises their eyebrows at him, simultaneously crossing their arms. It’s Tony who speaks up.

“Have you forgotten that you’re my son?” he asks.

“Yeah, but-“ Peter starts, before he realizes what he missed. “Oh, right…”

Yeah… so this is going to be awful…

 

* * *

 

 

A week is not that long, Tony has to admit. Especially when there’s a whole lot of props that they need to arrange.

Choosing the song isn’t at all the hardest part. It’s keeping it from Steve. He chose the song especially for him, because he knows Steve is going to sink on the ground from embarrassment when he hears it, and it would mean Tony would win.

Because, let’s face it, he might be in a relationship with the guy, but he’s not going to let him win because of that. Tony still has his standards.

“Just tell me,” Steve whispers against his neck while they’re on the bed. Tony has a projection of his latest project in front of him. He has his fingers on the holographic keyboard, everything written down in a secret code that even Steve doesn’t know about. Living with his competition, he needs to take special measures to keep him from peeking.

“Nope,” Tony returns, trying not to react too much to Steve’s hand on his stomach, drawing small patterns on it. When he gets to Tony’s scar, he follows it, head looking down to take a look at it. Then, suddenly, he crawls down for a bit, putting his head on the same level as Tony’s belly.

Great, this is going to be torture. But Tony can handle it.

He shudders when Steve presses his lips on the lower part of the scar, on Tony’s left side. Tony gets out a shivering breath, his hands shaking slightly while he’s distracted. No, he can’t let Steve win. There’s no way!

“Stop it, I’m not going to tell you,” he reminds him. Steve just chuckles.

“Yes, you are,” Steve returns with a grin. His nose follows the path of the scar, coming up to his sternum until he gets to the other scar, the one that came from the arc reactor. Tony lets out another shaky breath, his project suddenly forgotten. The little device that had been projecting the hologram rolls off his chest.

“You can try as much as you want, this bird is not singing,” Tony says, pressing his lips tightly together. Steve looks up with a grin.

“It will, eventually,” Steve returns, pressing his lips once more on Tony’s skin. Tony throws his head back, realizing fully that Steve is all too aware of Tony’s sensitive chest. “Is it getting too hard for you?”

Tony snorts. “Was that a pun?” he asks. Steve grins.

“Maybe,” he says in return. He shuffles forward for a bit until their faces are close together once again. “I just want the love of my life to tell me what he’s planning.”

Tony rolls his eyes. He puts a hand behind Steve’s head, and looks him deeply into the eyes.

“You gonna ruin every birthday present like this from now on?” he asks jokingly. Steve just grins playfully before leaning forward and kissing Tony gently on his lips. It’s soft and slow, especially pleasant when Steve’s fingers slowly caress his skin. Tony gasps for breath in the short few seconds that they aren’t kissing, but other than that they never let go of each other.

After a few minutes, Tony even pushes against Steve’s shoulder, making them roll over until Tony’s laying above Steve. Resting on top of him and not bothering to lighten his weight, he pulls his head back at last and just rests it on Steve’s chest.

“You’re not getting anything out of me,” he whispers playfully.

“We’ll see,” Steve whispers back.

True to his word, Tony did not say anything. But they both got a very enjoyable evening out of it, so it’s not really a wasted attempt.

 

* * *

 

 

They met the host the day after they heard they were participating. There they were introduced with their separate teams. Everybody had somebody joining them. Rhodey went with Tony for obvious reasons. Bucky joined Steve, and Peter, the poor soul, dragged three people along instead; Harry, Johnny, and Ned, the latter fanboying over everything since he seems to love the show so much.

Tony has no idea what has been going on with Steve’s team, or with Peter’s. He hardly sees them during the day, maybe just slightly during breaks. They arrive here at nine in the morning, and they leave again at seven in the evening, mostly exhausted – or Tony is, at least. Peter and Steve seem to have better stamina than he has.

But it’s exhausting. It’s pretty much like training again, only this time the only reasons he’s getting bruises is because of his own feet kicking his legs. He can sing, sure, but dancing like this has never really been his talent. Of course, Tony wouldn’t be Tony if he would just back down from a challenge like this.

It helps that Rhodey keeps on cheering him on in the meantime.

When the week is finally over, and the day arrives, they don’t leave at seven. Instead, they’re, all three of them, thrown into the make-up chair. Tony’s pretty much used to it, and Peter by now also has a bit of experience with it since he always needs it done whenever he goes out as Peter Stark. But Steve, the poor sob, seems extremely uncomfortable having a woman pressing brushes against his face.

“Is this really necessary?” Tony hears Steve ask. When he looks into the mirror, he sees Steve next to him, looking unhappy. Tony reaches out his hand, and when Steve sees it he holds out his as well.

“It’s not that bad,” Tony assures him.

“But I just don’t see the use for it,” Steve mutters in return. The woman who is working on him seems to find them extremely adorable, since she can’t fight the grin off her face.

“It’s for of the lighting and the video footage,” she explains shortly without really explaining anything. Steve frowns, but he doesn’t speak up again after that. Eventually, the hosts come walking in. They’ve had contact with them a lot in the past few days, but never really has a program for the evening been announced to them. They said they would tell them the day itself.

Well, today’s that day, and seeing them walk in, Tony understands that now they might announce it.

“Heya, guys! Everytin’ cool?” the guy asks. Tony’s often unsure on how to call him, but he keeps it with LL. He’s _not_ going to keep on saying _LL Cool J_ , because that’s a mouthful.

“Sure,” Tony says in return, smiling at the man. When he holds out his hand for a greeting shake, Tony lets go of Steve’s to return the gesture. After that, he reaches back for Steve, just to reassure him further. The woman, Chrissy, bites her lips upon seeing it.

“Oh my God, aren’t they adorable?!” she asks, shaking LL in excitement. LL just rolls his eyes but then turns towards Steve and Peter.

“You two alright as well?” he asks. Steve shrugs.

“A bit nervous, but other than that…” When they turn towards Peter, the kid chokes on the drink he’d been taking. While he starts coughing, he holds up his thumb to indicate that he’s doing fine.

“Alright, well, it starts in half an hour or so. Everything is ready. As you know, there’s just one round for each instead of two since there’s three of you.”

Everybody nods. Peter keeps on coughing awkwardly, tapping his chest.

“Tony, you’re going first, is that alright?” Tony nods. “Then it’s Steve, and we’ll finish with Peter.”

“Alright,” Tony says with a friendly smile. LL nods in return, holding his hand up in a wave.

“You’ll be brought to the right spot on the right time. Just listen well to the instructions you’re getting, alright”

Tony holds up his thumb again, and after that the hosts head back out once more. After that, the team works on them for a few minutes more before they’re released from the chairs. They’re guided away by the wardrobe-team. Tony can’t help but snort the moment he sees his uniform. He hasn’t tried it on, yet, and he knows he’s going to look extremely ridiculous, but… it’s worth it.

The outfit fits. To keep it hidden, though, he’s given a pair of sweatpants and a loose hoodie. It’s something he would absolutely not wear in public, not to mention live TV, but he figures the ends justify the needs. When he gets shown where he needs to wait, Tony goes to stand there, putting his hands in his pockets. He’s quickly joined by Peter, who looks like he’s ready to just die on the spot.

“You okay?” Tony asks. Peter shakes his head, moving around nervously.

“No,” he admits. Tony feels bad for him. He shouldn’t have gotten dragged along into this. Tony wraps an arm around the boy’s shoulders and pulls him closer. Once Peter’s leaning against Tony, still bouncing nervously, Tony kisses him gently on the top of his head.

“Everything will be fine. We’ll make sure to mention that the others made us do this, alright?” Tony says, trying to joke a bit about it.

“But what if they won’t take me seriously anymore after this?” Peter asks. “They barely even know me…”

“Don’t worry. These performances are never really that memorable,” Tony assures his son. Peter then wraps his own arms around Tony and hugs him back tightly.

“Thanks, Dad,” Peter says. Then, they can hear that it’s starting. The hosts are starting to talk, beginning the event. Tony lets out a sigh. Peter pulls away from the hug and heads back to where Ned, Harry and Johnny are standing. Tony watches them for a bit, glad that Peter has such good friends looking out for him.

Rhodey had offered to be here as well, but Tony told him he could go and watch it in the crowd instead. Basically all the Avengers are there, not even bothering to be undercover. Tony’s not sure if anybody in the crowd has noticed them, since all their eyes are pointed at the stage instead.

“ _AND HERE IS OUR FIRST GUEST OF THE EVENING: HE’S AN INVENTOR, HE’S A SUPERHERO, AND HE IS NOW ALSO A PROUD DAD, WELCOME TONY STARK!”_

The crowd goes wild. The door opens, and after throwing another short glance backwards to meet his son’s eyes, Tony starts running onto the stage. The lights are blinding, but to be fair it’s nothing he’s not used to. Holding the microphone he got earlier into his hand, he keeps his hands up in the air, throwing his signature peace-sign while grinning widely.

Oh, yeah, he’d forgotten the thrill that came with appearing in front of a large audience. Tony shakes hands with LL once again before walking further ahead, high-fiving a few of the people at the front. To the people in the back, he blows them a kiss just to make them feel included.

“OUR SECOND GUEST IS AROUND NINETY YEARS OLD, HE WEARS RED WHITE AND BLUE AND A BIG STAR IN THE MIDDLE, WELCOME CAPTAIN AMERICA!”

Once again, the crowd starts cheering, almost breaking Tony’s ears. He grins, taking a few steps back while he sees Steve awkwardly move forward, keeping a hand above his eyes to cancel out the light. He waves at the people awkwardly before Tony pushes him forward a bit. Nodding towards the public, Steve seems to understand what he means.

So Steve leans forward a bit, holding out his hand towards the people on the front row and shaking theirs.

“AND NOW TO SHAKE THINGS UP, WE’RE NOT GOING FOR JUST TWO GUESTS. NO, THIS SUPERFAMILY IS NOT COMPLETE WITHOUT THE ADDITION OF THEIR SUPER-SON, GIVE A WARM WELCOME FOR PETER STARK!”

Once again, loud cheers. Steve comes to stand next to Tony awkwardly, the two looking at the door Tony had been standing in front of earlier. There, after a few seconds delay, Peter starts running onto the stage as well. He still appears insecure, waving up at the people with large eyes and a mouth that has fallen open in his surprise. Yeah, the kid’s not used to this at all. Tony snorts, wrapping an arm around Steve’s middle while he watches Peter shake hands with LL before turning back to the crowd and giving them another wild wave. Tony’s not going to test his nerves, so he’s not pushing him forward like he did Steve. Instead, he throws his arm around Peter’s shoulder once again the moment Peter comes standing next to him.

“Look at that, look at that!” LL says when he sees the three of them standing there. Chrissy, sitting at her usual spot, holds out her phone and starts taking pictures before pointing at them.

“AREN’T THEY ADORABLE??!!” she shouts, and once again the crowd starts cheering. Steve, next to him, clears his throat. Peter just takes a shaky breath.

“Now, guys, how are you doing?” LL asks, ignoring Chrissy’s comment, though it still seems to have made him laugh a little bit.

“We’re fine, how are you?” Steve asks. Tony wasn’t quick enough to respond given that both his arms are stuck around his family. LL, along with the crowd, starts laughing once again, obviously not used to getting that response.

“We’re doing great, thank you for asking,” LL returns with a chuckle. “So, uh, let’s not waste too much time, shall we? Cap, Peter, will you join me on the VIP deck for a little bit while Tony gets ready for his stuff?”

The two next to Tony nod, and they gently walk out of Tony’s hold. He turns to look at them, giving them a wink before blowing them another kiss. Then he starts walking towards the middle of the stage.

He knows why he’s the one that gets to start it off; he has no obvious props that need to be put in place beforehand. Everything he needs moves and gets added in the meantime. So Tony stands there clearing his throat and putting the microphone up to his mouth.

“Before I’m going to crush the both of you, I need a little wardrobe change, though,” Tony quickly says. People laugh. LL points towards a screen that was obviously put there for that exact reason. “Don’t wait for me, just start the song!”

And Tony hides behind the screen while the first sounds of trumpets starts playing, along with the drums that try to announce his arrival. He knows Steve recognizes the song instantly, and he wishes he could see his reaction. He takes comfort in the fact that he’ll see it afterwards on TV.

People start shouting when the girls come up on the stage. Tony has enough time to take off the pants and the hoodie, pulling up the hood of his own uniform before jumping out from behind the screen on his cue.

And the shouting intensifies while Tony pretends to sing along with the girls, holding the Captain America shield into his hand while wearing one of the first versions of Steve’s uniform. The one where the hoods has actual little white wings come out from the sides.

He catches a quick look from Steve, finding the man pressing a hand against his face, barely daring to look up. Good, take that, you punk.

_Who’s strong and brave, here to save the American way? Who vows to fight like a man for what’s right, night and day?_

Yeah, a lot of people know the lyrics. The ones who do sings along with it. Tony pretends to throw his shield away, supposedly ‘losing’ his balance and tripping forward to that VIP deck. Once he gets to where Steve is seated, he goes to sit down on his lap, throwing another hand over his shoulder and holding the shield up to their faces while he kisses him on the mouth. After that he jumps back on his feet.

_Who will campaign door to door for America? Carry the flag shore to shore for America? From Hoboken to Spokane? The Star Spangled Man With A Plan!_

The edited the song a little bit, holding off the long pause that Steve usually used to give his speech about whatever he was selling at that point. Instead, Tony joins the girls in their dance, putting the shield on his back to make sure he doesn’t accidentally hurt someone with it. Meanwhile, the men, wearing each their own Cap-themed uniform, step up on the stage as well, with their hand up on this forehead as a salute while they march.

_We can’t ignore there’s a threat and a war we must win. Who’ll hang the noose on the goose-stepping goose from Berlin? Who will indeed lead the call for America? Who’ll rise and fall, give it all for America? Who’s here to prove that we can?_

_The Star Spangled Man with a plan!_

It goes on, Tony joining in on the dancing much like they practiced until he grabs the shield back and strikes his final pose. He’s a bit out of breath, waiting for the lights to die down. He’s sweating like crazy, realizing that this suit is not really optimal for fighting at all. The fact that people believed Steve went into battle with this was to be honest the most disbelieving part of this all.

“WOW! That was _amazing_!” LL says, running up to Tony and high-fiving him with a wide smile. Tony, too, can’t keep his smile down. He chuckles lightly before pulling his microphone up again.

“Thanks,” he says, though still out of breath. “Are you two over there already agreeing that you’re not going to win against me?”

The crowd makes a ‘ooooh-‘sound, and Steve blinks up with red cheeks. The two of them don’t really respond, because LL takes the word before they can speak.

“Now, Tony, I think I’m speaking for everybody here when I ask; is that the _real_ shield?”

Tony looks down at the round plate-formed shield that he’s currently carrying. Then he lifts up his microphone again.

“Yes,” he says then. People cheer, Steve jumps up from his seat and holds up his hands in a questioning gesture.

“Seriously?” Tony can see him mouth. Tony just snorts, walking forward for a bit until he’s reached him. Then he offers him his shield back.

“Thank you for letting me borrow this, honey,” he says, loud enough for everybody to hear. Then he quickly pecks Steve on the cheek before taking his place on the seat he’d been sitting on before.

“Okay now, Steve, we’ll drop the curtains and you can start preparing for your thing while we have a little chat with your boyfriend here, is that alright?” LL asks. Chrissy, who is still on her spot on the right side of the stage, starts shrieking like a fangirl.

Steve just glares at Tony, hands the shield to Peter and then goes to where he must be instructed to go. After that, the curtains fall much like LL said they would. And as LL starts asking why Tony chose that song, and how long it took them to practice it, Tony can’t help but feel extremely curious as to what exactly Steve is going to do.

After a few minutes of just talking and joking, Steve finally announces that he’s ready. The interview dies down for a bit, and then the curtains go up.

Steve’s props seem to be portraying a lane of some sort. There are street lights, pots of flowers, and fake trees. The background is trying to represent the city, with the lights and the buildings. Meanwhile, Steve is wearing a simple tuxedo, with a bow tie around his neck and a flower in his left hand. He’s smelling it.

And when the first notes of the base start playing, dance-couples come up behind him, slowing together into what looks like a romantic dance.

The first notes are enough to say which song it is, and Tony has to admit that he’s a bit surprised. How would Steve come up with the idea to perform ‘Stand By Me?’ Usually, people take faster, louder songs that have a lot of swing in it.

But Steve just starts to pretend-sing as if he’s in a musical, singing about the love of his life.

_When the night has come and the land is dark. And the moon is the only light we'll see. No I won't be afraid, no I won't be afraid. Just as long as you stand, stand by me._

_And darlin', darlin', stand by me, oh now stand by me. Stand by me, stand by me._

Steve isn’t really joining into the actual dancing like the others. Instead he just walks around, pretending to smell on his flower while he steps between the dancing couples. They all swirl around him, making it look even more like it’s a musical number.

_If the sky that we look upon should tumble and fall and the mountains should crumble to the sea… I won't cry, I won't cry, no I won't shed a tear just as long as you stand, stand by me._

Steve runs towards where Tony is seated. He passes his hand through Peter’s hair affectionately, gently kissing the top of his head, before taking Tony’s hand into his own and kneeling down, handing him the flower.

_And darlin', darlin', stand by me, oh stand by me. Whoa stand now, stand by me, stand by me._

Violins start playing and Steve suddenly pulls Tony out of his chair, starting a dance as well. It’s a bit awkward since Tony doesn’t know the steps at all, but while Steve continues to lip-sync, his eyes never leave Tony’s.

And all Tony can hear is Steve begging him, asking him to stay with him, not to leave him. And the moment the song is over, Tony can’t help but put his hands on Steve’s cheeks and pull him forward for a strong kiss on the lips.

If the people had been shouting earlier, now they’re all just breaking each other’s ears and their own throats. Despite that, despite the fact that LL and Chrissy try to keep the program going, Tony refuses to let go of Steve.

He’ll stand by him. Forever, and ever and… Tony sighs happily against his mouth. When he hears somebody scrape his throat, the two pull apart, realizing that Peter is still sitting there awkwardly, kindly keeping his eyes averted.

“Uh, sorry,” Tony mutters. He takes Steve’s hand into his own and pulls him back towards the deck. But he can’t get there before Chrissy taps them on the shoulder.

“Can I get a quick selfie before you head back there?” she asks. The crowd laughs, and Tony, too, can’t help but chuckle. As she points the camera at them, Tony turns to look at Steve, who looks back at him as well. Then, right when she takes the shot, the two give each other another quick peck on the lips.

When she sees the picture, she starts shrieking happily.

“OH MY GOD THIS IS THE HAPPIEST DAY IN MY LIFE!” she shouts, running back to her usual spot while hugging her phone. Steve awkwardly shuffles back towards the chairs with Tony and LL. Meanwhile, Peter jumps up on his feet, clearing his throat and pointing towards the door.

“I’ll just… go there for a bit…” he says. Everybody nods, and before anybody can say anything Peter’s already gone.

The interviewing continues. And when LL asks Steve why he chose that song, and Steve explains that he only chose something that reflected on his feelings for Tony, the engineer feels about close to tearing up. He holds himself back, though, when the urge to kiss him comes right back up.

After another little while, LL announces that it’s time for the commercials. That surprises Tony a little bit, since he’d expect they’d go on until after Peter’s finished. It appears they won’t.

“Yeah, Peter’s set-up needs a little bit more preparation,” Chrissy explains, handing both Steve and Tony a bottle of water. “By the way, thank you for the picture!”

Tony chuckles, and Steve scratches his head awkwardly.

“Hey, if it involves kissing my man, I’m glad to do it,” Tony says happily, leaning against Steve while patting his chest lovingly. Steve just clears his throat, clearly still not the most comfortable here.

“I know it’s a strange question, but could I maybe get a picture with the shield as well?” she asks, this time with the question directed at Steve, who frowns for a moment. In those short few seconds, Tony fears that he’ll say no, but eventually he shrugs.

“Yeah, that’s alright,” he says, picking it up from the ground and handing it to her before holding out his hand. Chrissy gives him her phone and quickly starts posing with the shield.

“Whoa, this is a lot lighter than I expected,” she calls out, moving it around a bit in her surprise.

“I know, it looks heavy, doesn’t it?” Steve takes a couple of pictures before handing her back the phone. She quickly gives him back the shield, and Steve hesitates for a few seconds before putting it on Tony’s magnet on his back. Tony snorts.

“You lazy ass,” he says. Steve rolls his eyes.

“if anybody here is lazy, it’s you. It’s not because we haven’t been dancing together in a while that you should just forget how to dance altogether!”

Steve pecks Tony on the cheek before walking off towards the crowd. A couple of people are still looking at them, though others are taking the small break to head to the toilet. Steve jumps down into the public, allowing a couple of the people to take selfies as well. Tony can’t help but smile as he watches his boyfriend crawling out of his shell like that.

After a couple of minutes they announce that they’re going to continue. Steve jumps back up on the stage and hurries towards the deck along with Tony. Chrissy goes to stand back behind her bar, while LL stands at the front, welcoming everybody back from the break.

“Peter, are you ready to start?” LL asks afterwards. Somewhere in the back, they can hear Peter’s uncertain stutter.

“I, uh, I think so?” he mumbles out. Steve reaches out his hand towards Tony, clearly just as nervous as Tony feels. He knows how anxious Peter had been before they were taken on stage, and he wishes for the world that the Avengers wouldn’t have put him through this. But, he figures that if Peter _really_ didn’t want to do this he would have said so.

But Peter’s not used to standing in front of such a crowd. At least without his mask on.

After a while, the curtain comes up. The stage is dark, until suddenly a spotlight shines on Peter, wearing a dark suit and a black hat. In his hand, he’s carrying an umbrella. The music that starts playing is familiar; Singing in the rain.

And Peter dances. Suddenly, all that insecurity and anxiety seems to have disappeared from his face. He smiles at the people, pretends to sing along as he starts leaning off the street lamp. Tony and Steve both frown when Peter suddenly disappears behind a bunch of umbrella’s. They both lean a bit to the side, trying to get a good look but unable to see anything.

The song changes immediately. There’s the drum-line that belongs to only one song, along with Jay-Z’s humming. The background goes up into the sky, a group of male dancers start dancing along. And as Rihanna’s voice fills the room, Peter suddenly emerges from behind the umbrellas. The girls holding them stand up while Tony’s son walks forward, wearing clothes that make Tony think back of that one video.

No way, Peter didn’t do _that_ , did he?

As it turns out, he did.

_You had my heart, and we’ll never be worlds apart. Maybe in magazines, but you’ll still be my star. Because, when the sun shines we’ll shine together…_

Peter moves, he throws his entire soul in it, it seems. Tony is already leaning back in his seat, against Steve who has his mouth dropped open just as widely as Tony’s. LL and Chrissy, too, make surprised noises as Peter seems to feel no shame in making some slightly obscene movements.

And then there’s the rain. Or, the water… And while Peter gets soaking wet from it, Tony can only just stare at his son’s moves. When did he ever learn how to move like that? Because Peter’s got serious rhythm.

It’s then that Tony realizes just how muscular his son is. In his mind, Peter always seems like this frail, little boy that he needs to protect at all costs. Seeing him here, he realizes that Peter’s not that helpless at all.

And Peter finishes the song with a front flip, landing on his back into the puddle of water. Completely out of breath, Peter slowly gets back on his feet while LL and Chrissy run up to him, clearly just as impressed as Steve and Tony seem to feel.

“Whoa, Peter! What wat _that_?!” LL asks, helping Peter back on his feet. Peter allows him to pull him up, putting his hands on his knees while he tries to regain his breath. He’s probably not really exhausted, but just pretending to keep people from noticing anything weird.

“That was me kicking my dads’ asses, that’s what it was!” Peter shouts all the sudden, pointing at the two surprised adults sitting there with confused looks.

Oh no, he didn’t.

He didn’t just pretend that he was scared and nervous to keep Tony’s guard down.

Did he?

That sneaky kid…

“Tony! Steve! What do you have to say about this?” LL asks then. Tony can’t find any words in his mouth, surprised that he’s actually speechless about it. Meanwhile, Steve lifts up his hand towards his mouth.

“Surprised. A bit shocked. And at the same time also extremely proud in a way?” Steve admits. Peter smiles happily. “I mean, it’s probably for the best that you went last. I don’t think any of us would have dared to go after this…”

People laugh. Instead of saying anything, Tony just stands up. He leaves the microphone on his chair and starts moving forward. Once he nears Peter, he reaches his hands out. Peter recognizes the gesture, running into Tony’s arms and the two holding each other in a strong embrace. The crowd once again makes a cooing sound as they see them, and it becomes even louder and filled with screams when Steve, too, joins the hug. Chrissy, once again, takes out her phone to take a quick picture of it.

Aware that there’s no micro around them, and that nobody can hear them, Tony whispers in Peter’s ear.

“I’m proud of you, son,” he says. Peter chuckles lightly.

“For dancing a bit dressed like a girl?” he asks.

“That, and for that awesome ass-kicking you did.” Tony kisses the side of Peter’s head before the three pull back a little bit. Out of reach from the microphone, Steve, too, leans towards Peter to tell him something. Tony can’t hear it over the screams, but he doesn’t mind. They can have their private moment as well.

“It looks like we had quite the battle just now! Let’s just see who, in fact, was the best here according to you guys.”

Chrissy appears with the victory belt. She stands next to Steve.

“Will it be Cap?” she asks. The crowd cheers. She then moves towards Tony.

“Will it be Iron Man?” LL asks. The cheers are just as loud.

“Will it be Stark Junior?”

And after that, it’s obvious who won. Chrissy hands the belt towards Peter, and the kid takes it with the biggest grin he can put up. He then holds up the belt above his head.

After that, they put up the next commercial break. It’s once again surprising, since Tony would have expected it to be over once the winner has been chosen. They’re all called off the stage while the people start cleaning up Peter’s stuff. They’re once again handed bottles of water, and Peter’s given a white robe. He takes off the wig at last, handing it to Johnny who gives it a funny look.

“Dude, you were insane!” Ned says. Tony and Steve decide to take a few steps to the side to give the boys their privacy. While the four of them start to happily discuss his performance, Tony pulls up his phone and quickly takes a picture of it. Then, in just a matter of seconds, he turns the camera until it’s facing him and Steve.

“Honey,” Tony says to get Steve’s attention. As the super soldier looks up, he smiles once he sees what Tony’s trying to do. He quickly leans forward, putting his head right next to Tony’s, his arms going around Tony’s waist.

Yeah, Tony’s not really one to take pictures like this, but on this instant, he wouldn’t mind the reminder of it.

“I love you,” Steve whispers into his ear. Tony smirks in return.

“I love you as well,” he says. They kiss shortly before pulling back again. Tony is then quickly ushered away by the wardrobe-team who seem intent on getting him into some decent-looking clothes. Peter, too, is dragged along. And as the two are put together, getting clothes thrown into their arms, Tony decides to ask at last.

“When did you even get the idea to do this?” he asks. The mischievous smirk on Peter’s face is enough to make Tony realize he probably pulled out the big guns.

“I just asked Shuri and MJ, and given that they’re both insane dancers on the side, we put something together,” he says. Then, suddenly, one of the wardrobe girls pull on Tony’s hair. When he looks down, he suddenly recognizes Shuri. She takes off her glasses and the beret she was wearing. The girl who was helping dress Peter up takes off her disguise as well, revealing MJ.

“I must say, Mr. Stark, it was really fun to defeat you like this,” Shuri says happily. She taps him on the arm twice before nodding towards MJ. “Come, girl, we’re going to get one of those nice drinks they were offering.”

Tony frowns. “You’re not old enough to drink!” he calls out after them, but they’re already on their way out. He sighs slightly, turning back towards Peter who is already changing into his other clothes.

“I’ll get my revenge, though,” Tony mutters out before pulling off the suit. He’s not going to keep it; it’s rather uncomfortable, and Tony’s sure he can make something much better at home. It could be funny to be Cap for Halloween. He might try and convince Steve to try out one of his suits.

The evening comes to a close. Once they’re back on the stage, all of them wearing nice, black suits and Peter having put his hat back on, they wait for whatever else is going to come next.

And as it turns out, they really made it into a big surprise.

Because the next song, that one being Bohemian Rhapsody, starts. And the ones pretending to sing along to it are all the other Avengers.

Yeah, Tony realizes all the more that he might just love the team.

Of course, not that he’s ever going to admit that.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just to make it clear:  
> Tony sings Star Spangled Man, the song sung in CA the first Avenger during his tour.  
> Steve sings Stand by Me by Ben E King.  
> Peter sings, obviously, Umbrella from Rihanna (though also a little bit 'singing in the rain')


	16. It's an Asgardian Thing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thor gets married, and everybody is there to celebrate it with him!

Tony Stark has been a man known for wearing multiple things. Expensive suits, Iron Man Armors, clothes fit for the workshop that are allowed to be destroyed with oil stains and, Steve’s personal favorite, sometimes nothing at all.

It’s rather fun, lying in bed, hands on his stomach, eyes on his boyfriend who is looking over the red and gold fabric of the robes. They’re both very much undressed, knowing full well that they’re not going to _get_ dressed very soon.

“Tony, it’s not _that_ bad,” Steve says with a laugh. Tony rolls his eyes, pointing back at the robes that Thor had brought to their room. They went to bed late last night, after making sure that Peter’s well, and since they’re allowed to sleep in this morning, it has mostly just been a good bit of catching up. And not just with words.

Let’s just say that Tony needed a bit of a time-out, just to catch his breath. Which is why Steve suggested he’d look over the gowns that were given to them.

Typical Asgardian gowns. But each of them with a hint of their superhero personas. Steve has to admit that he loves the red fabric, decorated with golden ornaments. He’s pretty sure Tony’s going to look amazing in it.

“Honey, I’ve worn many things in my life, but _gowns_ are not part of that.”

Steve rolls his eyes, sitting up with no care in the world.

“C’mon, you saw the look in Thor’s eyes when he brought it. We can’t disappoint him like that,” Steve urges on. Tony gives him a bland look.

“I’m not planning on disappointing him, honestly, what do you even think of me? I’m just not going to like it a whole lot.”

Steve throws his hands up in the air, though the grin is still strong on his face.

“Just wait until you’ll see what the outfit for Peter will be,” Steve tells him. Tony smiles, putting down the gown and walking towards the bed. With his knees back on the bed, Tony leans down until his lips are against Steve’s. Steve reaches up his hand, putting them on his boyfriend’s hips and carefully holding on.

“Steven Grant Rogers, I am so very much in love with you,” Tony whispers against his mouth. Steve’s not really used to him being so affectionate, but he can surely get used to this.

“It’s like you’ve stolen the words right out of my mouth,” Steve whispers back in between the kissing. He allows Tony to push him back. Laying down, Steve doesn’t remove his eyes from Tony’s.

“Wait, you mean that you’re very much in love with yourself?” Tony asks. Steve snorts.

“Tony-“ he starts. Tony ignores it.

“Do you tell yourself that in the mirror every morning? Is it a confidence-exercise I had the blessing of never being assigned with?”

“Just shut up and kiss me, you ass,” Steve returns. He lifts his hands from Tony’s hips and puts them on his cheeks.

The knock on the door brings an annoyed groan out of Tony. They’re both very much aware of their state of undress, so Steve quickly reaches towards the duvet to cover them both. Tony keeps his forehead against Steve’s shoulder.

“Come in!” Steve shouts, then. He throws an arm over Tony’s own shoulders. Then he gently kisses the top of his head.

“Anthony, Steven, do the two of you need help with putting on the robes that you were given?” Thor asks, storming inside the room. His hair is messy, his clothes loose. Steve sees that he hasn’t taken the time to put his prosthetic in beforehand, so he has one eye closed as he stands there with his hands on his hips.

“Uh, good morning to you, too, Thor,” Tony mutters out. Steve chuckles, sitting up a bit. The covers still make sure that not too much of him is showing. “Are you nervous at the moment?”

Thor shakes his head. “Naye, I feel extremely well. I’ve washed myself, my clothes are ready at my separate dorms from Jane. I must say, it’s been a lonely night without her.”

“I’m sure the two of you will make up for that after the wedding,” Tony mutters.

“We surely will, thanks for your confidence, my good friend,” Thor slaps Tony’s shoulder affectively. Then he moves to the side, picking up Tony’s red cloaks. “Now, is there help needed? I know I have people who could help you with it, but for my friends I like to make some time to help out, myself.”

Steve turns to Tony. Tony turns to Steve. Steve grins, and Tony’s eyes go wide.

“Oh, no, no, no! You’re not going to-“

“Well, thank you, Thor! I’m pretty sure Tony is going to need help. He’s worn so many things before, but I’m afraid Asgardian robes aren’t part of that.”

Thor smirks, nodding and grabbing Tony’s arm. Then, without warning, he pulls him out of the bed. Thor, being Thor, is not in the slightest bothered about Tony’s state of undress, instead pushing him in front of the mirror.

And Steve watches as Thor puts the whole outfit together. There are two different colors of red. They remind Steve a bit of the two different colors of blood; the arterial blood, and the normal blood. The one is more bright, but Steve, personally, prefers the darker variety. It might be because it’s the same tint they’ve used on his own uniform.

Steve falls even more in love, watching how Thor helps Tony transform from his usual self to his usual self but looking more like an Asgardian. Tony looks uncomfortable, Steve can’t possibly deny that fact. But he looks just so beautiful, so bright as the golden cape is attached to Tony’s shoulders. There’s a glowing gemstone hanging over his chest, representing the arc reactor.

Steve doesn’t struggle when he’s next. He allows Thor to do exactly what he did with Tony, except this time it goes a bit faster. Steve’s color scheme is, obviously, red blue and white. He does the obvious things himself; putting on the white pants, the red boots. Once he’s given the blue shirt, he’s surprised when Thor starts putting it over his head. In contrary to Tony’s uniform, Steve doesn’t have a chest plate. Instead, there’s a star on the lower left of his belly, made from white stones and small red gems. The cape he’s wearing is red, the same color as Tony’s fabric. In contrary to Tony, Steve has a hood on his cape.

Thor adds the small bits of decoration; the belt, the buttons and whatever else he can’t really name. Steve has to admit that he doesn’t look too bad. Though, looking at his face, he hesitates on whether or not he should have a shave. He puts his hand on his cheek, looking at his reflection curiously.

“Nu-uh, this time you’re not taking the beard away from me like that,” Tony mutters from the bed. Steve laughs but raises his hands up in the air in surrender.

“I wouldn’t dream of it,” Steve assures him. Thor, too, seems to find it amusing. He throws his arms over their shoulders, pulling them closer into what seems like a group hug. Tony groans in annoyance, but Steve finds himself laughing loudly.

He remembers again how much he’s missed Thor in the years that he had disappeared. It’s good to have him around more often again.

Eventually, Thor leaves, announcing that he’ll be heading to Bruce’s next. Steve and Tony wave him off. Once the King is gone, the two shake their heads in amusement. Steve, holding Tony’s hand into his own, chuckles again while leaning forward to kiss his cheek. He feels Tony’s dark eyelashes against his cheek in the process.

“You look amazing,” Steve whispers at him. He puts his hand behind Tony’s head, turning it until they’re looking right at each other.

“I look like a cosplayer at a convention,” Tony mutters.

“A what? At a what?” Steve asks in confusion, pulling his head back a little bit.

“Shit, I love you so fucking much,” Tony says in return.

“Unbelievable.”

“What?”

“That language of yours.”

Tony rolls his eyes, but leans forward and kissing him on the mouth once again. It’s short, but still very much perfect. Especially when Tony then puts his head against Steve’s chest, holding him in a simple embrace. Steve closes his eyes, gently rocking them around a bit.

“Wanna come and see how Peter’s doing right now?” Tony then asks. Steve nods, not even thinking about the fact that Tony can’t see him do so.

“Yeah, I’d like that,” Steve returns. They pull out of their embrace, hands linked together. In just a matter of seconds, they’re back out in the hallway. They haven’t had breakfast yet – maybe they shouldn’t have put on their gowns, already? – and Steve has to admit that he’s feeling quite hungry. Arm wrapped around Tony’s shoulder, the two walk towards where they remember Peter’s room being.

Tony knocks, leaning against Steve affectionately. He gives Steve a smile as they wait.

“Come in!”

They let go of each other at last. Tony is the first one to enter, quickly followed by Steve. Once inside, they find Peter standing next to his bed, already wearing the large gown Thor provided for him. He looks like he just came walking out of a Lord of the Rings-movie, but with unusual colors. While his cape is the same color as Steve’s, and he’s wearing a red tunic with long blue sleeves underneath. His pants, too, are blue. The dark red boots have subtle spider-web drawings on them.

Peter’s also smiling. That’s not something Steve would have expected to see so soon after the week they’ve just got. He realizes that Tony’s just as speechless as he is.

“Hi, Dads! Did you guys sleep well? These beds are amazing, don’t you think? I felt like I was sleeping on a cloud, it’s insane!”

“Uh, Peter…” Tony doesn’t continue his sentence. Steve quickly notices Mantis sitting nearby, on the bed playing cards with Shuri, who is laughing because of something.

“Well, how about that, it actually worked,” Steve mutters out. Peter nods in agreement, face suddenly pleased.

“Yeah, isn’t that amazing?” he asks. “I woke up and I was just, like, AAAAAAH! You know what I mean?”

Suddenly, Peter is no longer standing in front of them, instead running around them. When he starts walking up the walls, both Tony and Steve tilt their heads to the side.

“So, uh, you’ve become hyperactive?” Tony asks. “You feeling alright?”

“It’s weird, I feel like my answer is no on that one, but at the same time it’s not a complete struggle to just move around and do things, so I guess that’s a plus.”

Peter is sticking to the ceiling now, putting a hand on his chin as he thinks about it. His hair is falling downwards, as are his robes. It’s actually a pretty hilarious sight. Steve turns to Tony, not too surprised to see the man still worrying over him. Steve puts his arm over Tony’s shoulder again to hold him close.

“Mantis?” Tony still asks, looking at the girl on the bed. She just shrugs.

“I can’t cure him all at once,” she explains without looking up from her cards. “His emotions are really hard to handle. Besides, what I manipulate is still there, just… shifted. He’s still going to need to do most of the work himself.”

Tony sighs, and Steve chuckles, pulling him closer to him. He gives him another kiss on the forehead, looking back up at Peter who is seemingly trying out yoga-poses while hanging on the ceiling.

“Come on, Tony. Things are finally looking up for us,” Steve assures him. Tony sighs but then he nods.

“Care to come and eat a bit, sport?” he asks. The two girls on the bed suddenly jump on their feet. That’s when Steve gets a look at their robes as well. Mantis is in a long dress with mostly black and green colors. Shuri’s are a combination of brown, purple and black. They look absolutely stunning, he must say.

“Count us in!” Shuri calls out. Then she runs up right under Peter and holds out her hand. “Come on, show-off. Let’s fill our stomachs!”

Peter hesitates for a few seconds more before nodding and letting go of the ceiling. In a swift motion, he drops down on the ground. When his hair keeps on sticking up, Shuri laughs and passes her hand through it to mess it up even more.

“Hey! Don’t do that! My hair’s a menace on its own!” Peter tries to push her hands away, but it’s obvious that Shuri is used to being the ‘annoying’ sister. She just grins and rubs his head even faster. Steve can’t help but enjoy the sight. It’s not perfect, not even in the slightest. But it’s a beginning. And just seeing that smile on Peter’s lips again, though faint it may be still brings warmth inside of Steve’s chest.

Steve is holding on to Tony’s hand. It feels like it’s the only thing grounding the man from whatever seems to trouble his mind. For a moment, he wishes he could go back to only an hour ago, when they were still in their room, cuddled up against each other with Tony drawing patterns on his bare chest.

“You alright?” he asks as Peter, Shuri and Mantis hurry up and walk in front of them, deep in discussion about something Shuri’s showing on her phone.

“Peachy,” Tony returns. Steve rolls his eyes, pulling on his hand and stopping them in their tracks.

“Don’t do that,” Steve whispers out. The three in front of them continue walking, not noticing that they’ve stopped. “Things aren’t alright. It was a stupid question, I realize it. But… what’s on your mind?”

Tony blinks twice, pulling up a light smile until his hand is on Steve’s cheek.

“I’m just… worried about Peter.” Steve nods in understanding.

“I understand,” he returns. “But honey, he’s doing better already!”

“I know, it’s just…” Tony pulls his hands back, turning around and looking up at the wall. He shakes his head while rubbing his forehead. “I suppose I just don’t want him to end up like me.”

Steve should be used to it; to having Tony talk about himself in such a low way, like he isn’t important enough. It happens so often, almost three times every week, but yet again it hurts Steve so much in the chest, knowing that somebody he cares about so much thinks so poorly about himself. Steve sighs, walking forward and putting his hands on Tony’s shoulders.

“And what would be so horrible about that?” Steve asks. “Because the Tony I know is, to me, perfect the way he is.”

“Perfect enough to push you away for two weeks,” Tony mutters back. Steve rolls his eyes.

“Alright, perfect is a strong word,” he returns. He then turns Tony around to face him again, hands not leaving his shoulders. “But I never said you _are_ perfect. I said you’re perfect to _me_. Because I wouldn’t want you any other way.”

A small smile comes up on his lips. That’s a win!

“You know, you’re going to regret saying that eventually,” Tony teases him. He puts his hands on Steve’s hips, pulling him closer again, startling Steve in the process. The two chuckle.

“I can’t imagine a situation where I would regret this,” Steve counters.

(As a matter of fact, Steve _does_ regret it when Tony introduces himself as Captain America’s _perfect_ boyfriend when all the trouble has blown over, prints out t-shirts and makes them wear it when they go jogging the following week. With this, he stands corrected.)

“Hey, Dads! Breakfast time remember?” Peter suddenly shouts out, standing further away from them. He, Mantis and Shuri are turned towards them, having lost their attention to whatever their conversation was about. Steve nods, waving up at him.

“We’re coming!” he returns. He can see Shuri say something, snickering as a result. Peter looks embarrassed, punching her (gently) on the arm and hissing something in return. It’s fun to see them joking around like this; it’s a complete opposite sight of the Peter they’ve had in the house for the past week.

They get to breakfast, and they’re greeted by all the other Avengers as well as the Guardians. Everybody looks absolutely stunning – except for Stephen and Wong, who look almost exactly the same with their robes. Natasha’s red hair has been put up with what looks like hundreds of braids and pearls. She has red earrings that go perfectly with the black dress she’s wearing. It’s a great homage to her uniform, with small blue lines on them and red ornaments. Her cape is dark red, but not the same color as Steve’s or Peter’s.

Wanda, on the contrary, has her brown hair loose. Her dress is red as her uniform, and she’s wearing some sort of black apron on top of it. There’s the usual dark armbands and necklace. She looks amazing. She’s accompanied by Vision, who looks a bit out of place next to her with his brighter colors. His uniform looks a bit like Peter’s, only his cape is golden as well. His clothes are in the grey/purple variety.

Hope and Scott are there as well. Hope’s skirt is shorter than the other’s. It’s black, accompanied with a yellow cape. Her leggings, too, are yellow. Her brown hair is put into a sideways pony. Scott has his usual grey, black and red.

Bruce is looking none to comfortably at his green and purple – he keeps on wondering why everybody keeps on associating him with purple? – but next to Hilde, who has become his unofficial date in this day, they look like an amazing pair. Hilde has gowns in the colors of her Valkyrie-uniform, but when Steve asks about it, she admits that it’s the way the Valkyries usual dressed up during events. The dress is nothing new, with other words.

Bucky, Sam and Clint are sitting a bit to the side. Not because they’ve been excluded from the others, but more because they’ve excluded themselves instead. As it turns out, they’ve found some sort of creature that came along from space, and now they’re trying to make it do tricks. Steve can’t help but roll his eyes when he sees it. They are, and will always be children. Bucky’s clothes are mostly black with a little bit of silver. Sam’s are black, white and red. Clint’s have his usual purple, along with a bit of black and grey.

There’s T’Challa in black and purple, Nakia in a long green dress and Okoye in red. Gamora’s in black, Quill in red. They didn’t bother to try and put something on Drax, Rocket or Groot. Nebula, though, is nowhere in sight. Steve can’t remember seeing her when they landed, so she must not be with them.

“Hey, Captain Handsome!” somebody says from the side. Steve turns around from his breakfast, finding Darcy walking up to them with that usual smirk on her face. When she sits down next to him, a tad bit too close for Steve’s taste, she leans her head on her hand and blinks up at him.

“Uh, hello, Darcy,” Steve returns hesitantly. Darcy smirks until her teeth are bare, and then she puts a hand on Steve’s shoulder.

“So, you eventually got yourself a date for today or not?” she asks playfully. Steve’s words fall short, and he realizes he can’t come up with anything. When he turns towards Tony, he finds the jerk looking at them in amusement.

But eventually, Tony takes pity on him. He clears his throat, getting Darcy’s attention.

“Sorry to burst your dream-bubble. I mean, I get you, I really do, but that hot piece of ass is already taken,” Tony says while picking up his cup and taking a large sip from his coffee. Darcy pulls her hand away, groans and drops her head onto Steve’s shoulder.

“Aaaah! Why are all the hot ones always taken?” she asks in frustration. Steve just finds himself glaring at Tony.

“’Piece of ass?’ Is that really your best way of describing me?” he asks, horrified. Tony rolls his eyes.

“Honey, seriously, I was just trying to make a point.”

“I don’t understand how you’re described as having a silver tongue. Your expressions are always the worst.”

“Hey, no need to get personal there,” Tony banters in return. Darcy keeps her head on Steve’s shoulder before groaning again and getting herself back on her feet.

“Eurgh, couples are the worst,” she complains. Tony frowns, putting up his hand in a questioning gesture.

“But you’ve been searching for a boyfriend ever since that intern of yours got dumped?” he counters. Darcy rolls her eyes.

“Ian and I never were together, get your head in the game. Also, yeah, couples are dumb, unless I’m part of the couple. Duh.”

Darcy starts walking off after that, probably searching through all the other people here to get somebody that pleases her eyes. Steve notices immediately when she spots Sam sitting there, still looking at whatever beasty they got.

“Aaaaand now she’s officially Sam’s problem,” Tony jokes. Steve rolls his eyes but manages a smirk as well.

Breakfast goes on without much trouble. At one point Thor shows up with obvious panic in his eyes, storming towards Steve to ask if they can go through the vows one more time. They’re going for a completely Asgardian wedding, but Jane still insisted on getting some traditional, Midgardian things in it as well. Given the fact that Thor is about to marry the woman he loves, there’s no way he’s refusing her wish.

Steve joins Thor to a secluded room. He squeezes Tony’s shoulder to indicate that he’ll be back. Tony just waves at him.

“Have fun,” Tony mutters, eyes stuck on his tablet. How does he even have internet connection right here?

Oh, right, Tony has connection everywhere…

“Tony, I’m going to help Thor rehearse his vows, I’m not going to play some sort of game or something,” Steve mutters, still leaning forward while he waits for his kiss.

“Of course, and I’m pretty sure watching a nervous Norse God stumble over his lines can be pretty funny,” Tony returns.

“Tony, can I get my kiss or not?”

Tony shifts his head to the side slightly, until his lips are pressed against Steve’s. It’s not long, not longer than a second. After that, he’s looking back at his tablet. From what Tony can see, he’s looking over some sort of security footage. He wonders why Tony’s not watching that inside his own mind, but he figures he could ask and only get an explanation that he won’t understand. No, it’s better not to ask.

“Alright, Thor, let’s go,” Steve says, touching Thor’s arm to indicate that they’re ready to go. Thor quickly nods, pulling Steve along into a separate room. There, in the middle, there’s some sort of desk. It looks old, probably second-hand – it appears the Asgardians can’t really afford much more right now. On top of said desk, there’s a bunch of papers.

Steve frowns upon seeing it.

“Uh, Thor, just how long are your vows?” Steve asks when he notices the amount of papers on there. There must be about 10 pages or so of fully written text, noted down in Thor’s neat handwriting.

“Yes, is that not the custom in Midgardian weddings?” Thor asks, confused. Steve picks up the papers, finding very well-written things talking about how Thor feels. It’s like he could write a whole book about his love or Jane. It sure feels like it, at least.

“Not really,” Steve admits. “Usually they last about three minutes, maybe five tops. It’s a whole lot to remember, after all.”

“I cannot explain everything in just five minutes!” Thor calls out, suddenly panicking again. His large hands reach up into his hair, and he starts pacing the room nervously. Steve watches him for a few seconds before clearing his throat.

“Listen, you can make it as long as you want, Thor. I just think you would make it a whole lot easier on yourself if you make it a bit shorter.”

“You question my memory?” Thor asks with a frown. Steve drops the papers back on the desk and holds up his hands in defeat.

“I certainly don’t,” he assures him quickly. “I’m sure you have an amazing memory.”

Thor suddenly grins. “Right I do,” he says. Then he nods back at the papers. “Just read along. I’ll practice.”

Steve sighs softly, but shrugs and sits down while taking the first page between his fingers. Thor, while continuing his pacing, starts reciting the text word per word, not missing even a little bit of it. He doesn’t stumble, doesn’t stutter, doesn’t lose his flow. Steve has to admit that he’s really impressed.

The only problem is that it takes literally eleven minutes for him to finish. And Steve would mention it again, but when he sees the happy look on Thor’s face, he changes his mind. Because the King looks so happy, so proud that he actually memorized it.

So Steve doesn’t say anything about it. It can’t be that bad that it’s a bit longer, right? Surely, Jane will enjoy every word of what Thor is talking about.

“Was that alright?” Thor asks, smile bright on his face. Steve smiles in return, hiding away every bit of doubt.

“It was perfect,” Steve returns. Thor then lets out a relieved sigh, walking up towards Steve and pulling him up on his feet. Then, all of the sudden, there are two extremely strong arms pulling him into a hug that steals the breath out of Steve’s lungs.

“I am so happy to have been given such an wonderful friend like you,” Thor says, quickly pulling away again to look Steve into the eyes. “I am happy that you and Anthony have reconciled. I did not like seeing you so sad like you were the last time you were here.”

Steve’s smile disappears only slightly before he puts it up again. It’s true that he had been extremely unhappy the last time he had been in New Asgard. The last time he spoke to Thor, he had been talking about ending the relationship. Thor had tried to persuade him not to do it, but… Yeah, Thor might be stubborn, but so is Steve.

“I am glad, too,” Steve says truthfully. “I just wish it doesn’t get to that point again.”

Thor shrugs, then. “Love is often unpredictable,” he explains. “I had not seen Jane for a whole year after that fight. Look at us now.”

Thor’s smile is so contagious. His hands are squeezing Steve’s arms, his gaze strongly holding on to Steve’s eyes.

“I’m sure that you will find true happiness with Anthony. It just… comes in the strangest forms.”

Steve nods, suddenly pulling up his hand and holding it out as a fist towards Thor. The God looks down at it, smirking once again when he recognizes it. Then, without speaking, he taps his own fist against Steve’s before the two bump their sides against one another.

“Shall we check on the great hall? The decorating should be about done now.”

Steve nods. “Lead the way,” he tells him.

And much like Thor suspected, the preparation of the great hall had been finished. There are white drapes all around, flowers, candles, and even a few golden ornaments. The many chairs don’t look that expensive, but the thrones on the other side of the room does.

Yes, _thrones_ , as in plural. Because unlike Odin and Frigga had in Asgard, as it turns out, Thor would rather have Jane by his side at all times that she wishes so. She will become his queen and will be equally as important to the kingdom as he is.

The hours continue quickly after that. While Steve helps out with the last few tasks that need to be accomplished, Thor hurries back to his quarters to get changed at last. Steve isn’t left alone for long, though. He gets in a conversation with Lady Sif and Hilde, and is eventually joined by Bucky and Sam. When he asks where Clint and Scott are – since they’re often hanging around with the four of them whenever Steve isn’t with them – Bucky simply explains Clint with Peter Quill back at Jane’s. Apparently, they seem intent on doing her hair and make-up. Meanwhile, Scott is with Hope, supposedly having gotten into a deep conversation with Natasha about fighting tactics.

Of course, Steve’s friends will always be the same. Even during their free time, combat seems to be their top priority, especially being prepared for it.

After a little while, the three men head outside to take some air. Steve’s missed this, just hanging around with Sam and Bucky. In the past few days, they’ve barely had the time for it. There was Peter to worry about, and before that there were the curses that had brought New Asgard into slight chaos.

And they talk for a bit. Bucky about being with Natasha, about how his head seems to be doing much better thanks to Shuri’s therapy. Sam, meanwhile, stays awfully quiet about any sort of love-life he’s having. Instead he talks about last night’s game, and his upcoming plans on maybe going to play baseball with the team as some sort of bonding exercise.

Steve is happy to listen. Feeling as if they’ve only been focusing on _his_ problems in the past few months, he’s glad to just be quiet and take it all in. His friends have their own lives happening, their own issues and good things going on. Steve really wants to be a part of it.

Eventually they get back inside when the snowfall seems to get worse. It’s weird how much the climate here can be so different from New York’s. Steve shakes the snow off his gown and takes a look inside. The room has filled out, the musicians already tuning their Asgardian instruments. The choir warming up their voices. Every person performing seems to be wearing the same sort of golden gowns. A couple of the chairs already seem to be taken. Steve can quickly recognize Tony sitting next to Bruce and Stephen.

“Captain Rogers,” a familiar voice suddenly says. Steve tenses up, turning around to find none other than Loki standing there, fully in black-golden-green gowns. He’s wearing an alternate version of the helmet Steve saw when he first met him (or rather fought him). The god of mischief is keeping his hands behind his back, though his face looks serious.

“Loki,” Steve greets in return. It’s taken a while for him to understand that Loki’s actually on their side now after the war. But, he figures, if the others could give Bucky a chance, he could try and make an effort for Thor’s brother.

“I can’t help but have noticed that you’ve fixed your relationship issues,” Loki states rather than asks. Steve just nods.

“Yes, we have,” he says. Then, suddenly, a smile appears on Loki’s face. Whether it’s genuine or not, Steve has no idea.

“I am glad to hear that,” he returns. “I must thank you for helping my brother like that, earlier. He really needed it.”

Steve just nods. “I’m always happy to help,” he says. Loki gives him an intense look at that before nodding.

“I have noticed.”

There’s a short silence after that before another presence suddenly joins them. Steve turns to look at Yaël holding her child. The kid looks much like how Steve last remembers him, which is obvious since he can’t have grown that much in the past two weeks or so. He’s glad, though, that Yaël is aware that she shouldn’t force the child on him.

Steve wouldn’t know how to deal with a baby even if his life depended on it. He’d rather not be responsible for one.

“Thor is ready,” she tells Loki, before turning to smile at Steve. She’s wearing a beautiful long-sleeved brown-and-blue dress. Her long hair is loose, dark and natural. On her head, she’s wearing some sort of silver crown. Her cape seems to be made of a dark-blue fur of some sort. She looks absolutely gorgeous, as do literally all the women around here. Steve can’t even describe Hilde’s dress. He can’t wait to see Jane’s.

“Alright, I’ll get everybody ready,” Loki then says. He turns back towards Steve. “You should join your family, take a seat before all the good ones are taken.” There’s a grin on his face, though it doesn’t look mischievous. Steve nods, bowing slightly before turning into Tony’s direction. Then, before he goes, he stops in his steps, giving Yaël a short look.

“You look amazing,” he says, taking her hand and squeezing it shortly before letting go of it again. After that, he hurries in Tony’s direction. Once Loki starts speaking, Stephen gets up and starts heading back to where Wong is. Meanwhile, Bruce stays seated on the chair next to Tony’s. Steve goes to sit on his other side, kissing Tony’s cheek as a greeting.

Tony doesn’t stop his explanation towards Bruce, though he does reach out his hand and links his fingers with Steve’s. The super soldier doesn’t mind too much. He looks around, noticing Peter sitting with Shuri, Mantis, Wanda and Vision a bit further away. He’s not going to ask them to join him. It could be good for the kid to have some time with people his age, after all.

It’s Bucky who comes sitting next to him, followed by Natasha, Sam and Clint. After that, their row is filled. Behind them, Scott and Hope take place, along with T’Challa and Nakia, Okoye, Rhodey and May. Rhodey leans forward towards where Tony is sitting, tapping him on the shoulder and asking him something. Steve doesn’t listen to it. Instead, he turns towards Bucky.

“You ever planning on doing something like this?” Steve asks. Bucky’s eyes open wide in his surprise, but then he clears his throat. Natasha, too, seems to avert her eyes.

“Not really, no,” Bucky admits, scratching his head. “Too much… everything, you know?”

And Steve does understand, though in the extend that is possible. There’s no way for him to get what exactly is going on in Bucky’s mind, but he can try and get it, right? 

“If we would get married, it’s just quick in city hall. Two signatures and that’s that,” Natasha says dryly before clearing her throat. Bucky then turns to look at her while nodding in agreement.

“Exactly,” he says, then. Steve is glad that they have each other.

“Oh, honey, remember that one time when I took you to the arcade as a date?” Tony suddenly asks, pulling on Steve’s hand to get his attention. Steve quickly turns to him, nodding in agreement.

“Yes, I do,” he returns, remembering it indeed. It’s a real fond memory, he finds. They’d been going to a restaurant, and after that they had taken a walk. When they came across the arcade, Tony pulled him inside and challenged him with a couple of games. “Why?”

“Oh, I was just telling Bruce here about it. I’m trying to give him dating-ideas for him and Betty!”

“Tony, for the last time, I’m not asking Betty out, and I’m most certainly not taking her to an arcade!” Bruce counters. Rhodey then once again leans forward.

“No, you’re right. Take her flying, instead! Works like a charm!” he says. May grins.

“Indeed, it does,” she confirms.

“You really want me to sit in a tiny little airplane? That sounds like disaster on a stick…”

They’re discussion is stopped when all of the sudden Thor walks forward. He’s greeted by Heimdall at the end of the aisle. The gatekeeper slaps his shoulder shortly before pulling him into a hug. The man is going to be the one to lead the ceremony, which is why he’s standing where he’s standing right now.

“He looks classy,” Tony mutters back at him, eyes stuck on the people at the front.

“He’s the one getting married, can you blame him?” Steve returns. Tony then finally turns back to him, his brown eyes boring into Steve’s, his hand tightening around his.

“You want this, too, don’t you?” Tony asks. Steve frowns for a short moment, before realizing what this is all going to be about.

“Don’t do this,” he tells him. “Don’t start blaming yourself.”

“I’m not-“

“It’s what you always do, Tony!” Steve calls out a bit louder than intended. He notices a few people looking at him. “Uh, sorry.”

Bucky pokes him in the side, giving him an eye-roll once Steve turns to him. Steve just shoves him aside. Then he directs his direction back at Tony.

“We have a deal, remember? You ask when you ready, that’s what we agreed on,” Steve then hisses at him. Tony’s frown deepens for a bit, but then he takes a deep breath.

“Right, worrying too much, I get it,” Tony mumbles back, finally turning his gaze towards Thor and Heimdall. Steve hadn’t even noticed that Loki joined them. He tries to look around, finding Yaël with Peter a bit further away. Raido is seated on Wanda’s lap, looking up at Vision with big eyes.

“Just see it as us being even now,” Steve then says. Tony’s head turns back to him all of the sudden, eyes worried.

“Even? How could we be even?” Tony asks in confusion. Steve opens his mouth, but suddenly his breath catches.

Right, he wasn’t supposed to bring it up again.

“No, you know what, never mind, it was a stupid thing to say.” But he knows it’s too late. Tony already put two and two together when he tries to find what Steve had been looking at before. Once he sees Raido on Wanda’s lap, his mouth falls open in understanding.

“Oh, come on, Steve, seriously?” Tony calls out. Once again, a couple of gazes are landing on them, and Rhodey pokes them in the back.

“Can you guys not do this right now?” the guy mutters, his face hovering between theirs.

“Buzz off, cuddlebear,” Tony returns. Steve raises his hand to his face, awkwardly rubbing his nose. Once Rhodey’s back in his seat, the engineer continues. “Listen, Steve. We’re not bringing the kid-thing up _again_. We’ve had enough shit because of it.”

“Well, that’s my point,” Steve then says. “We’re… even… now.”

Tony just stares for a few seconds longer before letting out a deep breath and shrugging.

“I guess you’re kind of right,” he agrees. “But you’re also kind of an ass for bringing it up, though.”

Steve smirks slightly, squeezing Tony’s hand again and then lifting it up towards his lips.

“I know. You still love me, though, right?”

Tony makes a thinking sound. Steve shoves him, as well, making him laugh instead.

“Yeah,” he then says, suddenly sticking out his tongue. “Though I often wonder why.” Steve rolls his eyes, but can’t help the smirk on his face.

“Ladies and gentlemen, we’re going to start the ceremony,” Loki then suddenly says, facing the audience and slightly bowing at them. People start shutting up, the ones who were standing are now starting to sit down.

In just a matter of minutes, everybody’s quiet. The choir starts singing a tune Steve doesn’t recognize. Loki is standing in the front, next to Thor. On the other side, where Jane is going to be, Darcy is already waiting.

It’s Eric Selvig who guides her forward. Jane’s dress is not bombastic, instead rather simple. But Bruce explained earlier that Norse weddings often put more attention to the hair rather than the clothing. They didn’t even always wear white.

It’s obvious that there has been as much attention put into Jane’s hair. It has grown a bit in the few months that she’s been here. It’s been put into multiple little braids, decorated with small white pearls. A big part of the braids is put together in one bigger braid. Her loose hair is curled, hanging over her back.

She isn’t carrying flowers in her hands, instead holding some sort of silver crown between her fingers. It looks like a smaller version of the helmet Thor is wearing, more intended as a headband or a tiara of some sorts.

It’s then that Steve notices the weapon Thor is holding. It’s not the Stormbreaker, or… it is. But it’s not _just_ the Stormbreaker. The axe is hanging over his shoulder, underneath the cape. Mjölir, though, is hanging over his hip, looking so in place next to him. It was hard to imagine Thor with another weapon, so seeing Mjölnir next to him is kind of comforting.

The ceremony on its own is wonderful. Steve can’t get enough of Asgard, due to the fact that everybody here just speaks so beautifully it makes Steve feel like he’s just ended up in one of those old movies. Heimdall talks about old traditions, about Odin, his love for Frigga, and his love for his children.

When they get to the vows, Steve had forgotten about the fact that Thor’s speech is close to eleven minutes long. He feels a bit guilty that he didn’t warn him more about it, but Thor’s just very stubborn.

But Thor doesn’t do the speech. Instead, he seems to speak from the heart.

“Jane Foster,” Thor starts, loud voice blooming all over the hall. Steve smiles without realizing it. There was never a doubt that Thor really _loves_ Jane; it’s obvious all over his face. Steve’s just glad that his teammate got to find somebody he wants to spend the rest of his life with. “Only hours ago I made the dear Captain listen to the longest wedding vows ever written on Earth, according to him. According to him, I had been speaking for eleven minutes without interruption. But I found that even in those eleven minutes I did not find that I managed to explain all my feelings towards you correctly. Because I fear I cannot put it into words, still.”

Jane laughs for a short moment. Thor smiles as well.

“I want to make you my Queen. I want to be your proud husband, the father of our no doubt wonderful child. I want to be by your side at every moment possible because I find so much joy in just standing near you. Your passion for science, your Midgardian ways… From day one, when you hit me with that car of yours, I felt a strong pull towards you. And it’s probably crazy to do this, but I do not care, for I love you with everything my heart possesses, and I will love you until the very last moment I get to have you, and beyond.”

It’s a complex situation between them, with Jane being human, and Thor a semi-immortal being.

Thor stops talking. Jane lifts up one hand to her face, wiping away a tear and sniffing her nose. Then she chuckles, turning her face to the audience awkwardly. A few people laugh along, but mostly everybody stays quiet.

“Thor,” she starts, letting out another chuckle. “I must admit that when I met you, I thought you were crazy.”

People laugh. Even Tony. It’s a good sound, Steve realizes.

“I mean, you looked like a drunk man, calling out for your hammer.” Jane points at Mjölnir, hanging on Thor’s belt. “But you took the time to teach me things that people thought me crazy for. You opened up my world, gave me explanations for things I couldn’t explain. And with each word that you used to feed my brain, my heart slowly fell harder and harder.

“I know, to the Asgardians, my life might be short, over in just a blink of an eye. But I’ll try my damnest to make that blink of an eye worthwhile for everybody. For you as your wife. For our child as a mother. For Asgard as her Queen. Because I know that, by your side, I can do things I would never have been able to imagine, and I need to thank you for that.”

Thor smiles and takes the crown from her hands, lifting it up towards her head. Then, with all the gentleness that Thor seems to have, he puts it down on top of her head, his fingers going through her hair shortly before pulling his hands back.

“My Queen,” he says, voice full of affection. Jane smiles back.

“My husband,” she returns. Thor then turns towards Heimdall, who nods. They bring out the rings – the Midgardian tradition that Jane wanted to import. After that’s over, Steve figures it won’t be much longer. Thor guides Jane onto the throne, holding her hand as she goes to sit down. After that, he unbuckles Mjölnir from his belt, holding it up.

“Wait, what is he doing now?” Steve asks Tony in a whisper. Tony leans back to the side.

“They called it putting Thor’s ‘manhood’ on her lap, but I figure it’s just mostly tradition since Thor can’t very much give blessing to his own wedding,” Tony mutters back. Steve frowns at the absurdity of it, but he figures it’s just something he wouldn’t understand. “I also think it’s a combination of exchanging weapons. Though Jane has no weapons to offer, and Mjölnir is not just something anybody can pick up.”

And everybody looks in fascination as Thor gently puts Mjölnir down on her lap. She doesn’t seem too affected by it, though her eyes are staring right at the weapon, face slightly turned into a frown. Then, without a word, she reaches out her hand towards the hammer. When Thor wants to pull it back, she gently slaps his hand to the side.

Once her fingers grab a hold of the handle, it’s like a gigantic wave of wind emerges from her. There’s some sort of storm indoors all of the sudden, clouds forming above her while bolts of electricity paint the air around them. Thor looks up with wonder and excitement in his eyes. Jane’s hair goes up in the air, wild and… lighter in color?

Much to everybody’s surprise, Jane stands back up the hammer raised in her hand. She looks at it in shock, with her mouth fallen open and her free hand on her stomach.

“People of Asgard, and our beloved guests,” Thor then starts, facing the audience. “I present to you; the new Queen of Asgard, and the new keeper of Mjölnir.”

Thor takes the hammer over from her again, and the wind emerging from Jane disappears just as quickly as it came. Her hair darkens again, though looking wild anyway. She looks a bit out of breath, suddenly giggling.

“That was exciting,” she says, breathless.

And the Asgardians start losing it as they begin to applaud and scream, each and everyone of them happy that, finally, somebody seems to be worthy to possess the power of Thor.

“And people say that weddings are boring,” Tony mutters towards him. Steve pokes him in the side, and Bruce seems to do the same.

 

* * *

 

 

According to Bruce, some of the ancient Norse traditions he read up on were pretty much followed through. Though when he asked Thor if it was mandatory for him and Jane to get drunk on the bridal-ale at the feast, Thor had laughed loudly and slapped him on the shoulder.

“My dear friend, we do not need a wedding to get drunk!” he calls out. “Besides, Jane cannot drink.”

“Okay, and one last thing?”

“Ask away, friend,” Thor assures Bruce.

“I rather hope this one is _not_ real, but I read that newlyweds were escorted to bed by at least six witnesses to make sure that… uh…”

“To make sure you two would bone,” Tony interjects in his usual way. Clint and Steve, who had been drinking from their cup at that time, suddenly spit out whatever they had in their mouth. Too bad for Sam and Bucky, who get everything in their faces.

“Bone?” Thor asks, in confusion. Tony shrugs.

“You know, doing the horizontal tango. The frickle-frack. Sex?”

“Ah, you mean intercourse?” Thor asks to clarify. “No, we do that in the privacy of our bedroom, do not fear.”

Bruce lets out a relieved sigh, and the others seem just as equally relieved. Natasha holds out her hand towards Scott, who rolls his eyes and pulls out a bill and hands it to her.

“Now, my friends, enjoy the feast. Dance, eat, let go of your worries for as long as possible, alright?”

Everybody nods, and people start scattering around. Natasha and Sam go to join Sif, Hilde and Okoye, while Bucky goes to talk with T’Challa. He’s not always being a brat with the other Avengers, he can be serious sometimes, too.

Peter’s somewhere around here, dancing with Shuri. Steve caught it in the corner of his eyes. It was rather fun to watch the kid with his friend. The smile on his face had warmed Steve’s heart, and he’s sure Tony must have felt the same way.

Speaking of Tony, Steve taps him on the shoulder.

“Yes?” Tony asks, turning around with his glass of water in his hand. He had not complained about the fact that he couldn’t drink, but Steve’s still sure it can’t be easy for him to resist it like he’s doing now.

“Care for a dance?” Steve asks. Tony looks at his hand, surprise obvious on his face.

“Uh, honey, we haven’t been dancing for a while now… I’m pretty sure I’ll be stepping on your toes…”

“I don’t care,” Steve assures him. “You can step on my toes however much you want, and it won’t make me love you any less.”

Tony rolls his eyes, but then he turns to the side and hands Bruce his glass.

“Can you hold this for a moment, please?” he asks him. Bruce nods, taking it from Tony and giving him a wink. Tony rolls his eyes once again before taking Steve’s hand into his own.

“People better not film this,” Tony mutters towards him as they walk onto the dance floor. A couple of people are already dancing. Steve once again spots Peter, only this time with Wanda.

Steve doesn’t say anything in return. Instead, he puts his right hand on Tony’s back. Tony, in turn, puts his left hand on the back of Steve’s shoulder. They slowly sway along with the music, trying to get into it for a bit.

“You should have seen my drunken dances,” Tony tells him. “Rhodey once told me I was worthy of being a stripper.”

“Tony, being a stripper is not really a worthy thing,” Steve returns.

“I know.” Tony raises his head, getting his mouth close to Steve’s. He doesn’t kiss him, though. “But you would have loved me anyway, no?” he asks.

Steve laughs, making them turn before pressing Tony close to him once again. “I would love you in any form I could get you.”

Tony smiles, giving him a light kiss on the lips before resting his head on Steve’s shoulder.

“You sap,” he says.

The music keeps playing. People keep dancing. There’s fun all around, people laughing and talking and drinking. The feast is an obvious success.

And Steve is happy. Because he’s got Tony, he’s got a slowly-healthier Peter around here, and he’s got Bucky wandering around. That, in the combination of his crazy family surrounding him here?

Yeah, Steve’s pretty lucky, and he feels like there couldn’t be anything that could ruin this evening for them.

 


	17. In the Beginning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve can’t really pinpoint the exact moment he fell in love with Tony Stark.
> 
> Sure, if asked, he could explain when he realized he was in love, but when it actually happened is more of a mystery to him.

Steve can’t really pinpoint the exact moment he fell in love with Tony Stark.

Sure, if asked, he could explain when he _realized_ he was in love, but when it actually happened is more of a mystery to him.

Yet, it’s still a thing Steve thinks about. Especially now, looking down at Tony, both of them breathless. Tony’s hands are digging into his sides, brown eyes glued into his. Steve knows the man’s heart is racing, just like his own is as well.

“Steve,” Tony whispers out. He’s sweaty, his face red. Steve hesitates for a moment, afraid he’s going to give the guy a heart attack. While they usually go two rounds before going to sleep, Steve also realizes that Tony isn’t the youngest man around anymore, and it’s not always evident that they could do this the way they’re going doing it now for a very long time.

“Tony,” Steve whispers back, leaning forward to kiss him on the lips, soft and sweet. He shifts his hips, tries moving a bit faster. Tony just grunts, turning his head to the side and wrapping his arms around Steve’s shoulders.

“I lo- I love-“ Tony can’t finish his sentence, as a loud gasp escapes his mouth instead. He’s reached his peak, that much Steve knows. Steve presses his nose against Tony’s neck and decides to just let go. After this they can sleep. Tony has been tired often, lately.

“I love you, too, Tony,” Steve mutters out. The arms around his shoulders let go as Steve stumbles over his edge. He can’t help the small groan coming out of his mouth. He presses his head on Tony’s chest, feeling his heartbeat calming down under his ear.

When he hears a light snore, Steve looks back up.

Huh, Tony _actually_ fell asleep, he realizes. Steve knows not to feel insulted by that; the man had been tired before they even began, and it was only because Steve begged him for it that Tony agreed to have sex tonight.

Tony’s been working day in and day out. It’s understandable why, though, with needing to help out Peter with his lack of hearing. The fact is that Tony can’t help his son if he’s exhausted, which is why Steve literally has to carry Tony to bed when the first signs of exhaustion come up.

The sex had just been because it had been a while. A long while. And Steve missed Tony, and he needed this.

And now Tony fell asleep, probably did so before Steve even finished. And this hasn’t been the first time, either. Steve shakes his head, leaning forward to kiss Tony on his forehead before pulling away from him, rolling onto his back to stare at the ceiling.

He reaches out a hand, searching for Tony’s and linking their fingers together the moment he finds it. In his mind, he tries to think back. Back to that moment where his heart decided that being friends with Tony wasn’t enough.

 

* * *

 

 

They had actually gone for shawarma after the battle.

They had handcuffed Loki, preventing him to speak by putting some high-tec gag on him, and then they pulled him along to the restaurant that was surprisingly still standing. Tony had paid, since it had been his idea. After that, he offered everybody to just take a quick shower and freshen up at the tower, on the floors that were untouched.

They had a short conversation with Fury, one to indicate that there was no way Loki was to remain on Earth. Thor agreed to take him back to Asgard with the help of the Tesseract. Fury didn’t object. The call had been extremely short.

And then they went their separate ways. It was obvious, no? They hardly knew each other, after all. Clint and Natasha were friends for years, sure. Stark had practically adopted Bruce as his brother for some reason. Thor didn’t really ‘belong’ on Earth.

And Steve… he didn’t really belong here, either.

Stark had offered Steve to stay at the tower once it was finished. He had offered it to everybody, claiming that he had big plans. Clint and Natasha agreed to check it out once it was finished. Thor promised that he would come by one day and check it out. Bruce immediately promised to join, which was why he hopped into the car.

But Steve couldn’t. Though he didn’t want to separate on any bad terms, he still approached Stark to shake his hand and thank him for the offer once Thor was gone. But he knew it was for the better to just start over fresh.

Besides, it was easier to dislike Tony Stark for all the obvious reasons; he was self-centered, narcissist, egotistical, selfish… Huh, did he just use four synonyms to describe the guy?

In Steve’s eyes, the bad outweighed the good. Sure, Stark was smart, and sure he was ready to offer up his life to save an entire city. But he was also the kind of guy that would announce his home address on live television while being actively targeted by a terrorist, thus endangering his current girlfriend and himself.

Yet, still, Steve had found himself feeling weird around the man. Right from the moment that Stark had opened up those brown eyes, after appearing dead for a full, dreadful minute, only to be scared awake by the Hulk, Steve had felt weird.

Which is why he sought distance rather than company. Instead of moving in, he explained that he wanted to figure out this modern world. Stark accepted the excuse rather than pressing him for another answer. Steve figured he simply asked out of sheer politeness.

His isolation didn’t last for long.

Upon the first mention of Steve joining SHIELD on the field, along with Natasha and Clint, he had grabbed the opportunity. He took it as an excuse not to have to live at Stark Tower, making it seem less like he was rejecting Tony but more like he just couldn’t be there. And besides, Tony hadn’t taken it personally, but just said that the tower was open for any of them at any time.

Missions had been easier than dealing with his feelings. Of course, Steve hadn’t really understood what he had been running from at the time. He just blamed it on his discomfort being around Stark, because that’s what it was after all.

Hanging out with Natasha was easier. She was this sort of woman that wouldn’t take his crap. She would kick his ass at any given moment, and she would die to keep your secrets. Granted, Natasha Romanoff was easily the most secretive person in the world, and it was pretty hard to get a read on her. While Steve knew pretty much every member of the Avengers’ backgrounds, Natasha remained pretty vague, still.

Despite the fact that they barely knew each other at all, Natasha and Clint both accepted Steve into their little group. He joined them on SHIELD missions. Sometimes the three of them, sometimes just him and Clint, and other times him and Natasha. A couple of time he was the one getting benched, but that was mostly in case the mission was a covert one that needed infiltration that spanned in a longer period of time. In hat case, Steve was the back-up.

He was aware that Natasha and Clint had started up a bet. He didn’t mind too much, even though it was about him. Of course, they would bet on something like this. After all, wasn’t Steve considered as the ninety-year-old virgin?

“Listen, Steve, I have a lot of money riding on this, and I’m not going to let you ruin my chances of winning it,” Natasha had told him warningly, pointing a finger at his face with a menacing look in her eyes. Clint hadn’t been there at that moment.

“What do you need to win?” Steve asked. Natasha had just grinned and put her hands on her hips.

“I’m going to find you a girlfriend,” she had responded, and Steve couldn’t help it; he started laughing. So hard, in fact, that he had to put pressure on his stomach as it was hurting from all the laughing. There were tears in his eyes, and his face was aching from the constant smile that his lips were forming.

“You- I’m sorry, you’re going to… what?” Steve had asked, wiping a tear away. His smile quickly disappeared when he saw the dry look Natasha was giving him. One that could indicate that she was messing with him, but might as well mean that she was ready to kill him on the spot.

“Get off your ass, Rogers. You’ve got a date in twenty minutes,” Natasha had then said, poking him in the sides to get him standing. Then she started pushing him in the direction of his bedroom

“Wha- are you serious?” Steve had asked, completely baffled by her insistence.

“Of course,” she returned. “Her name is Stephany and she’s from medical.”

Steve had then turned to her with raised eyebrows.

“Medical from SHIELD?” he asked. Natasha hadn’t responded, instead pushed him onto the bed and marching towards his closet. She sighed when she took in the very few clothing he had in there. She seemed to find it absolutely ridiculous, or that was at least what he heard her mutter.

Just as she said, after twenty minutes Steve was finding himself giving introductions to a girl probably one or two years younger than him – biologically, that is, since Steve’s in fact in his nineties to be exact… The girl had been pretty, kind, giving him kind of a Latina vibe with her dark eyes and dark, straight hair. She told him to call her Steph, and they hit it off well enough.

Despite that, despite the fact that the date wasn’t so bad, and Steve had found himself enjoying it, he just didn’t feel it. In turn, Steph seemed to sense his hesitation as well. After he drove her home, she told him she’d see him sometimes at SHIELD perhaps. The way she spoke made it clear that she was not expecting much else from him, much to his relief.

It was safe to say that Natasha threw a fit when she found out. Though, instead of lingering on it, she started working forward. And she introduced him to Trish, Jenna, Reilly, and Mary. And with each date it seemed to get worse. Trish was kind of a drama queen, Jenna ate with her mouth open, Reilly hated art, and Mary was already talking about having children before the first hour was over.

Nobody was really surprised when Steve headed towards Natasha’s house and told her that it was enough. He didn’t want a girlfriend, and with the new missions coming up, he figured he wasn’t going to have much more time. Instead, he started training more.

That was when he met Sam for the first time. The guy had been funny, kind, and easygoing. And after Natasha picked him up, she had looked at Steve with a raised brow.

“Don’t tell me I’ve been making you bark at the wrong tree, Steve,” she told him as she turned her gaze back on the road. Steve gave her a confused look. “If you’re into guys I can get that, I mean, that guy over there _was_ pretty hot.”

And Steve had sputtered and had felt his cheeks redden instantly.

“No!” he had called out. “What the fu- Nat, why would you- what the-?”

Natasha had held her hands up as the car was stuck behind a red light.

“Easy, Rogers, don’t get your panties in a twist,” she said. “You know it’s not that big of a deal anymore, right?”

“What isn’t?”

“Being gay! Or, you know, being bisexual is also a thing now.”

“Oh my God, I can’t believe you’re making me have this conversation,” Steve had muttered, rolling his eyes and turning his head towards the window to avoid looking at her. “Look, I’m not… into men, alright? I’m just not… interested.”

And Natasha had given him a pensive look at that. She hadn’t brought it up anymore.

Partly, that was.

“Did you do anything fun Saturday night?” she had asked.

“Well, all the guys from my barbershop quartet are dead, so… No, not really.” Steve could feel it coming, could read it in her face. She had known exactly what he had been doing this Saturday; training and catching up on some history at the library.

“You know, if you ask Kristen out from Statistics, she’d probably say yes.”

Steve rolled his eyes, attaching his helmet and securing the communicator into his ear afterwards. “That’s why I don’t ask,” he said.

“Too shy or too scared?” Natasha teased.

“Too busy!” he returned, ridding himself of the conversation by jumping out of a jet.

The mission had went smoothly at first. Sure, he could have lived with Natasha suggesting him asking out the nurse across the hall as his only worry of the day, but things became rough rather quickly when he found out that, once again, Fury had been lying.

And so had Natasha.

That was when Steve had started to think about what Stark had said on the helicarrier, that first day they met.

“ _He’s a spy, Captain. He’s THE spy, his secrets have secrets._ ”

Steve faced Fury, called him out on his lies. Fury, in turn, decided to open up a bit, much to his surprise. Despite it, though, Steve figured that he didn’t really like what Fury was sharing.

 _This isn’t freedom, this is fear_. Steve stayed by that sentiment as he went on his day. He went to the Smithsonian, went to visit Peggy a visit, and eventually headed back to his apartment where he even, despite everything, thought about asking the nurse across the hall – he didn’t even know her damn name – if she wanted to grab some coffee… What had become of him?

Of course, after that, things easily went to shit. HYDRA, Bucky, Fury dying, Natasha and him going undercover. A lot happened, and when Steve come up in the hospital after being shot three times, he honestly felt as if an entire building had dropped o his head. To be fair, he had fallen from quite a height.

“Hey there,” somebody had said. Steve had startled, turning to the side. Sam was no longer there, grabbing some lunch as far as Steve remembered. The person standing there, though, was no-one other than Stark.

Holding his shield in his hand.

“You know, I had this crazy sudden urge to go fishing in Washington today. Had even bought a little boat and some fishing equipment, invited Rhodey along but of course he was on another mission with the president after that SHIELD-stuff and all,” Stark had started, walking up towards the bed to take a look at the charts. “What are the odds, though, of me finding this dinner plate on the bottom of the lake?”

Steve had laughed despite himself. His stomach hurt, his head feeling as if it was about to split in two.

“Are those tears of joy? I hope so, because my ego would be pretty busted if you would cry in fear just because you saw me arrive you know?”

Steve smiled, reaching up an aching hand to wipe away the tears he hadn’t realized were rolling over his cheek.

“It’s, uh, it’s the black eye,” Steve quickly said as an excuse. “It… uh, there’s pressure on my eyes.”

“Sure there is,” Tony had returned, smirking slightly while leaning against the wall, still a decent distance away from the bed. “How’s the Capsicle feeling?”

Steve tried to shrug, but instead he grunted in slight pain. Tony seemed to startle from it, clearly wondering if he should be asking for help.

“Don’t, the painkillers only work for five minutes,” Steve quickly warned him. He tried to sit up for a bit, clearing his throat. Despite the serum, it still hurts a bit due to being intubated during surgery. He still can’t believe it; he’s had surgery… He wouldn’t have thought that possible, really.

Tony then seemed to take that as his cue to sit down on the chair Sam had been in earlier. “If your answer to my question won’t be ‘I feel like crap’ then you’re lying,” he muttered out. Steve just snorted again.

“I heard you blew up all your suits,” Steve muttered, trying to divert the conversation. Tony took a breath, passing his hand over his face.

“Yeah, a Christmas present for Pepper,” he said, hastily. It only took one look to understand what he seemed to be struggling with.

“You’re building a new one, aren’t you?” he’d asked. Tony’s eyes looked up to him, something looking like fear passing in his gaze.

“Thor’s got his extraterrestrial attack in Greenwich, _and_ now SHIELD turning out to be HYDRA? Yeah, you bet I’m making a new suit. I’m making a few of them…”

“I figure Pepper wasn’t too happy about that news?” Steve tried.

“Uh, she doesn’t know, to be fair,” Tony admitted.

“She doesn’t- Tony! Why wouldn’t you tell her? I’m sure she’d understand,” Steve tried to argue. Tony just snorted bitterly before pulling out his phone, looking down at it to keep himself from looking at Steve, probably.

“She wouldn’t,” Tony muttered. “She doesn’t like Iron Man. Doesn’t like being the woman at home, fearing for the love of her life to return home.” Tony then started scratching his hair, eyes finally meeting Steve’s.

“If she loves you, she’ll understand,” Steve assured him, unknowingly holding out his hand until it was resting on Tony’s lower arm. Then the two men looked at it, staring right where their skins were touching. It lasted for a few seconds before Steve realized what he was doing, and he pulled back. “Sorry, still a bit groggy,” he lied.

Tony saw right through it, but he decided not to mention it. He started getting up, tapping Steve on his good shoulder twice before pointing at the door.

“I’ve got a lovely lady waiting at home, so I suppose I’ll be heading back,” Tony muttered. Steve nodded, giving him a light smile. He couldn’t even remember when he actually wanted to _smile_ at Tony. “I, uh… Thank you.”

“For what?” Steve asked, confused. Tony pulled out some sunglasses, giving Steve a long look.

“The Helicarriers… They would have… look, Bruce and I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for you, so thank you.” Tony put on the sunglasses and started walking out of the room. Steve started to smile, then, looking back at Tony’s retreating back.

“You’re welcome,” he whispered out, feeling tired again all of the sudden. With a heavy breath, he closed his eyes, allowing his body to take all of his energy to heal him. He would be feeling better when he woke up again.

It had been a few weeks later, while he and Sam were barging in an abandoned warehouse that had been a supposed lead to Bucky, that he got the call.

“ _Cap, you got a second?”_ Tony had asked through the phone.

“Uh, sure,” Steve had muttered, gesturing at Sam that he would need a few seconds. Sam had waved back, starting to look inside the room for further clues. “What’s wrong?”

“ _Well, I’ve been looking through the SHIELD-files Nat put out in the public. Nasty, business, really. There were a few things in there that I rather didn’t have out there in the world, you know blueprints for weapons and prototype-results along with the formulas for the first few drafts of the arc reactor but okay, that’s damage control for later-“_

“Get to the point, Stark,” Steve interrupted him when he realized that Tony was starting to ramble again.

“ _So impatient, my, my, I’m shocked!”_ Steve gave no answer, and there was a short silence, which Tony filled with a soft cough. “ _Right, okay. We forgot about the scepter.”_

“The what?” Steve had asked in confusion.

“ _The scepter? The one Thor’s little brother brought to Earth to brainwash birdbrain over here? Not_ your _birdbrain, but ours.”_

“You can just say Hawkeye, you know?”

_“Semantics. Anyway, Thunderstruck came to pay a little visit after Jane and co. decided to head back to the States. And that’s when I realized something was missing so I did some digging. It turns out that the Scepter has been in HYDRA’s hands all along and they were doing some research with it.”_

“Shit,” Steve had muttered.

“ _My, my! Do you kiss your girlfriend with that mouth of yours?”_ Steve rolled his eyes, turning towards Sam who just shrugged after making a full sweep of the territory. A dead end, then. Alright, it was only their first lead after all.

“Your hilarious, Stark,” Steve muttered. “What’s the plan, then?”

“ _Well, Bruce is already here, Clint’s just arrived back in the states after his troubling SHIELD/HYDRA-confrontation in, where was it?”_

 _“Beirut,”_ a voice in the back said. It sounded like Bruce.

“ _Right, Beirut. Nat’s on her way here, and Thor is currently having a very pleasant conversation with Pepper, I should probably be afraid of her demanding of me to do some workout and dye my hair blond.”_

“You’re talking more than normally, is everything alright?” Steve asked.

“ _Just, get here as soon as you can. Birdbrain two-point-oh can join if he wants, though I’m expecting this is going to be another ‘Avengers Assemble’ kind of thing so if he’s not really into that kind of thing he’s still invited for the celebratory party afterwards.”_

Steve looked down at his watch. “I’ll take the first flight to New York,” he said.

“ _No, no, Nat’s picking you up in a few minutes. I’ve passed along your location.”_

“How do you know where I am, Stark?”

“ _I know where everybody is,”_ Tony returned smugly. “ _Also, you’ve kept the GPS on your phone on, that’s how I found you.”_

“Stalker,” Steve muttered back. “See you in a bit.”

“ _You wound me, Cap. Au revoir!”_

After that, Tony hung up, and Steve turned to Sam, who looked at him knowingly.

“Let me get, you got another lead?” he asked. Steve had shaken his head.

“Actually, no,” Steve admitted. “It’s, uh, the Avengers.”

Sam had straightened, face suddenly serious. “Oh, alright. You should go, then.”

“What about you?” Steve asked. Sam gestured to the room around them.

“I’ll continue the search. One of us ought to,” he returned. Steve smiled at him.

“Thank you, Sam,” he had said. After that, Natasha arrived, and the action started instantly.

It was a long search. Tony and Natasha going through the files with Bruce. They infiltrated one base after the other, always coming home empty-handed.

Steve hadn’t even realized that, during this mission, he’d started to call the tower just that. ‘Home’… It was where they came after chasing down another bust. Every lead they followed ends up with them arriving too late. There were only small indications that proved somebody had been there before, but never enough clues.

Tony and Bruce did their computer-business. Steve, Clint, Natasha and Thor worked out in the gym, trying out the newest equipment Tony made them. There were some moments where Bruce would join them for lunch or dinner, and there were occasions where some of them would help out the two geniuses as much as they could, but frankly the only one with a bit of skill in that department was Natasha.

Natasha, who seemed to be getting closer to Bruce. Sitting at the sidelines, Steve was having a full view of seeing whatever was going on there blooming. She would join them the most, leaning over Bruce’s shoulder and pointing at his screen while he tried to explain to her what he was doing.

It was one of the rare times Steve saw Natasha actually _smile_. It wasn’t a bad look on her.

But while Bruce left the lab sometimes to get some food into him, Tony didn’t. The others didn’t exactly pay attention about it, but Steve did. That was why he often prepared an extra tray of food and brought it down to the lab.

Tony rarely looked up from his screen, but as he ate he started explaining some things to Steve. Things he wouldn’t even try to begin to understand. Instead, he just nodded and smiled at Tony.

Steve got to see the new suits Tony made. There were a few. But even more, Tony appeared to have been started on what he called the ‘Iron Legion’. Some sort of army of suits, operated each individually by JARVIS. Steve found himself rather impressed, really. Especially given the fact that, after half a year, STARK-tower seemed to have been changed completely into Avengers-tower.

“So,” Tony one day started while sipping on a glass of water Steve had brought him. “You think we should be making some ground rules about ‘no relationships’ between the members of the team? Or you think those two can keep it professional?”

The way he asked it made it clear that it was meant in a joking way. Steve still rolled his eyes, though.

“They’re not that bad,” Steve assured him. “Besides, you should be going to bed.”

“Nopedy-nope,” Tony had returned. “I still have work to do.”

“And that work will still be there in the morning.” Steve pulled on Tony’s chair, getting him away from the desk.

“Help!” Tony started to shout. “I’m being kidnapped by Captain America!”

“Stop being such a wise-ass,” Steve returned, pushing the chair forward to the door. JARVIS opened it up for him automatically, so Steve could push the chair into the elevator once it arrived.

“I don’t need sleep,” Tony muttered. The yawn that came afterwards betrayed him, though.

“Really?” Steve asked.

“That was just… boredom. I’m bored because I can’t do my work. You’re being a bad friend here.”

“I’m being a good friend,” Steve returned, unimpressed by Tony’s words. Once the elevator stopped at Tony’s floor, Steve pushed the chair forward again. Tony threw his head back, looking up at Steve from underneath him.

“Huh, even your nose-hair is blond. Who would have guessed?” Tony muttered out, and Steve’s hand automatically goes up to shield his nose away from Tony’s observing eyes.

“You’re kind of a creep, you know that?” Steve had muttered. Tony shrugged in return.

“Hey, you heard about that Spider-Man? Took out some giant lizard while we were chasing down air a few weeks back.” Steve nodded. He had indeed read something about it. When they arrive in front of Tony’s door, Steve stopped pushing the chair.

“Yeah, we should talk to him maybe,” Steve suggested. Tony nodded.

“I’m already on it. Trying to track him down for a bit, see if he has any patterns he follows. So far, my deduction is that he still goes to school.” Tony’s finger goes up, poking Steve on his chin. Steve slaps his hand away, but Tony just started to snort and poked him even more. “You know, you would look pretty hot with a beard.”

And Steve had blushed at that. “Uh, thanks,” he muttered. Once the chair was in front of Tony’s bed – Tony’s extremely _large_ bed – Steve let go of the chair and walked around him. “C’mon, you can get up on your own.”

But Tony put a hand on his forehead dramatically, making a faint noise. “Oh, no, I’m too weak. I can’t stand on my feet! It’s too much!” he joked. Steve rolled his eyes, but rather than pushing on, he just picked Tony up, causing for the genius to start shaking his legs.

“I thought you couldn’t get up?” Steve asked while carrying Tony bridal style, a giant smirk on his face.

“I was being an ass and you know it! Put me down!”

“Alright,” Steve returned, throwing Tony on the bed. “Now, you don’t need me to help you get changed, do you?”

“You would like that, wouldn’t you?” Steve got in return, and Steve felt his cheeks warm up once again. He cleared his throat, and cast his eyes away, suddenly noticing something on the nightstand next to the bed.

A photograph of Tony and Pepper together, the Eiffel-tower standing behind them. Pepper was kissing Tony on the cheek, and Tony looked… happy.

And something stung inside of Steve. He couldn’t really explain it, it was just there. Just… Suddenly looking back at Tony, and that feeling got even stronger.

“Uh, you all right, Rogers? I was only joking.” Tony looked a bit worried. Steve then cleared his throat, realizing that he was sitting down on the bed, next to Tony’s feet. He quickly jumped back up, pulling at the chair.

“I’ll bring this back to where it came from. You get some sleep. At least… six hours, okay?”

“SIX? And lose that much time?”

“We’re gonna lose much more if you’re passing out on the job.”

Steve hadn’t looked at him after that. He just left the Penthouse, put the chair back into the lab, and then left the tower in its whole. He went for a jog, one that lasted about three hours, which he performed in clothes that were not at all meant for jogging. After that, he took a shower. He stayed under it for at least an entire hour.

He was greeted by Natasha, who had her arms crossed as she leaned against the wall. There was some worry clear in her eyes.

“You okay, Steve?” she had asked. Steve had nodded, but didn’t really know what to tell her. “You sure?” she tried further.

“Yeah, I just…” Steve reached up a hand to scratch the back of his head. He could tell Natasha, right? She would listen to him, she wouldn’t joke about it. She’d keep a secret. “I think I-“

“You think, what?” Natasha urged on, walking forward and putting a hand on Steve’s shoulder to assure him that she’s there. Steve cleared his throat once more.

“I, uh… I think I might have feelings for… uh,” Steve looked down at the ground with a sad look.

“For who?” Natasha asked. Steve looked back up at her, his blue eyes meeting the greens of hers. At that moment, the shape of her eyes, the shape of her face… it reminded him much of Pepper Potts. He let out a shaky breath.

“Never mind,” he muttered out. “It’ll pass.”

But Natasha took Steve’s hand while he was trying to walk away. Her cold skin against his felt weird, but not unpleasant. Right when she was about to open her mouth, the elevator opened up, showing Pepper walking inside as she took off her high heels and loosened her hair.

“Man, that was the longest meeting I’ve ever had the displeasure of attending,” she muttered out. When she suddenly noticed Steve and Natasha standing there, practically holding hands, she let out a little ‘oh’-sound. “I’m sorry, I must have gone off the wrong floor?”

“So it seems,” Natasha said with a light smile. “Tony’s in bed.”

“In bed? How did you manage that?” Pepper asked curiously. Natasha then turned towards Steve.

“I, uh… I pushed his chair up to his room,” he explained. “And then I kind of threw him in the bed.”

It’s obvious that Pepper seemed amused by the explanation. As she giggled, she put her shoes down on the ground and continued to the fridge barefooted.

“Well, expect me to call for your help more often,” she said while leaning down and grabbing a beer from the lower shelf in the refrigerator. “Since sex doesn’t seem to be doing the trick anymore… Can’t use the same thing too often with that man.”

Though Steve noticed a bitterness in her voice. He knew Pepper hadn’t reacted too well about the new suits, and the Iron Legion. She had even returned to Malibu for a few weeks after the repairs were done. The only reason she was in New York right now was because of a series of business-meetings she had to attend as CEO of Stark Industries.

Steve knew that as he was often the one finding Tony wandering around in the tower in the middle of the night as the two of them couldn’t sleep due to the nightmares.

Pepper only stayed for a few more days. After that, she returned to the main bureau of Stark Industries. Tony stayed in New York, the team heading out to chase another lead.

It was only around the end of May that they got the right lead. With Bruce and Tony being almost extremely certain that they were right this time, the team travelled to Sokovia. That was where all the troubles started.

Things were tense for a while. Tony had, of course, followed through on his promise to organize a celebratory party. It had been fun, and Steve hadn’t been able to relax that much in a long while. But after that, Ultron came.

And Steve couldn’t help but feel some bitterness at the idea that Tony went behind his back. He didn’t really know _why_ it stung so much. It just did.

But they took care of Ultron after a while. Bruce disappeared, putting a damper on Natasha’s mood. Clint returned to his sister’s farm to help out a bit at the renovations. Thor went back to Asgard in search for the other ‘Infinity Stones’, so to say.

And Tony? He decided to take a step back. Explained that he couldn’t do this anymore. Steve knew that he felt guilty about the whole Ultron-disaster, and he couldn’t really blame him. It was impossible to say Tony and Bruce weren’t responsible for it, but in the end, Steve felt like the entire team was in one way responsible.

“I will miss you, Tony,” Steve had told him after Thor flew back up into the sky. Some part of him had hoped that… Tony would say it in return. That didn’t happen.

Nonetheless, after that a lot happened. Tony got back in the suit, Pepper ended the relationship, Peter came into their lives.

And it’s because of Peter that Steve realized how very much in love with Tony Stark he really is.

It was in that room at medical, Tony sitting up in bed, Peter next to him, the three of them looking at the Arc Reactor that Peter put together. It was that pride that Steve found in Tony’s face that made him realize it.

He went to his room afterwards, slightly panicked about it. Natasha came to visit him, to find out if everything was alright. She told him to go for it, that he was sure Tony was on the same page, but that he just didn’t know it yet.

Yet Steve hesitated. For a few more weeks. Then, when he had to leave, chasing down a lead for Rumlow, he had enough of it.

And that’s how, eventually, it all began.

 

* * *

 

 

“Steve?”

Steve startles, eyes blinking as he focuses on the figure in front of him. Beautiful as ever, Tony is next to him, brown eyes looking at him in worry. When he sees Steve smile, though, that worry quickly disappears again.

“Tony, you’re awake,” Steve says.

“Did I- I fell asleep again, didn’t I?” he asks with clear embarrassment. It’s not often that anybody can get Tony Stark flustered.

“Yeah, I’m almost starting to feel insulted, you know,” Steve quickly tells him as a joke. Tony groans, pressing his face against the pillow to hide himself away. Steve laughs, throwing an arm over Tony’s shoulder. “Don’t worry, Tones. I was just joking.”

“Maybe two times is a bit too much before bed,” Tony mutters against, only barely audible. Steve kisses his cheek.

“Next time just tell me when you’re tired, alright?” Steve urges on. Tony shuffles closer until his face is resting in Steve’s neck. Steve just holds on to him, the two letting out a deep breath together.

“You know that’ll never happen,” Tony whispers then. Steve starts laughing, throwing his head back.

“Just… let’s just sleep, alright?” Steve asks once he’s regained his breath. Tony lets out another heavy breath before nodding against Steve’s chest.

“Already way ahead of you,” Tony mutters sleepily. “Hmmmm, love ya.”

And Steve smiles slightly with his eyes closed, one of his hands going up to Tony’s hair to pass his fingers through it. Tony likes that, after all.

“I love you, too. A whole lot.”


End file.
